Workers renovate a natural drainage channel in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, June 8: Cleaning and desiltation work in four out of 10 major natural drainage channels in the city has run into problem over land acquisition.

The Rs 74crore project requires the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) to acquire nearly 14 acres along the route of these channels, which has been encroached upon in some places. The project also requires land to widen channel routes at a few places.

The water resources department has already given the land plan and schedule to BMC officials to start acquiring land. With no estate office of their own, BMC officials are facing the problem of getting work done.

The water resources department has already given a requisition list of nine acres for channel No. 1, 1.064 acres for channel No. 2, 3.727 acres for channel No. 3 and 592 decimals of land for channel No. 4.

“However, getting all land deeds, conducting surveys, getting original plan from the map publishing wing of the revenue department in Cuttack and also coordinating the entire exercise have become a huge burden on us with our limited staff. This is over and above the regular work related to eviction and anti-encroachment operations,’’ said a senior BMC official.

Government records show that the water resources department looks after all major drains in the city, while the BMC is only concerned about the smaller drains.

“Therefore, handling survey and land acquisition work by staff of the water resources department would have served the purpose better. The extra burden has added to our woes. On one occasion, the map publishing department told us that for an original map one had to wait for three months after filing an application. If one wing of the revenue department takes so much of time, then how will land acquisition be completed within the stipulated period?’’ asked another BMC official.

The state government has fixed June 15 as the deadline to finish survey and land acquisition work for the cleaning and desiltation work of the four natural drainage channels. But BMC officials, on condition of anonymity, admitted that with the present pace of work and cooperation from other government departments, the entire process might take another four months.

In another development, executive engineer, Cuttack drainage division, Pradip Kumar Duria, said: “Land acquisition money is included in the contract agreement of Rs 74 crore. After getting the final report from the BMC, the money will be distributed through the district collector, Khurda.’’

The renovation work involves erection of concrete walls on both the sides of the drains and a bed made of laterite stones to allow recharge of groundwater. Walls on the sides of the natural drainage channels will also ensure that wastewater, including sewer lines, does not get mixed with rainwater flowing through the natural drainage channels.

Sources in the water resources department said that of the 10 natural drains flowing through the city, five (natural drainage channels 4, 5, 6, 7 and 10) passed through the core city area and were identified as nullahs having a catchment area of 40sqkm. The other five drains (natural drainage channels 1, 2, 3, 8 and 9) had a catchment area of 44.18sqkm. However, all the drains were now choked with debris and weeds. The entire stormwater of the capital was discharged through these natural drainage channels, and they ultimately fell into Gangua nullah which flows into the Daya river.

While the state government is readying plans to revive the clogged natural drainage channels in the city with funds from the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, the directorate of physical plants of the Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology has gone a step ahead and begun work to de-clog part of the 4.33km of the natural drainage channel No.8 at an estimated cost of over Rs 4 crore.

Work has started from the origin of channel No.8 at Jokalandi road culvert near Jagannath Prasad behind the Baramunda Colony. At present, the university authorities have taken up renovation work on 1.28km stretch of the channel.