Berhampur, July 6: The municipal corporation, which oversees a total road length of 386km, is finding it difficult to expand and maintain them with its existing funds.

“We are trying to widen most of the cement-concrete roads. But we do not have sufficient funds. Though the housing and urban development department sanctions funds for construction and maintenance of roads, about 10 to 20 per cent of development funds of the corporation also has to be utilised to construct and maintain roads,” said the Berhampur Municipal Corporation’s executive engineer Asim Mishra.

“Every year, the state government sanctions about Rs 5 crore to the municipal corporation for construction and maintenance of roads, which is a meagre amount. We need at least Rs 4 crore more every year,” said Mishra.

The corporation has spent about Rs 60 crore in construction, expansion and maintenance of roads in the town.

The state government has sanctioned a special grant of Rs 2.59 crore to the Berhampur Municipal Corporation for construction of cement-concrete roads for the 2013-14 financial year. But for the same fiscal, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has received Rs 5.45 crore and Cuttack Rs 4.50 crore for the same purpose.

Because of its waterlogging-resistant capacities, cement-concrete roads are generally constructed in localities that lack adequate drainage facilities.

“We have our own limitations and the cost of construction of 1km cement-concrete road cannot exceed Rs 30 lakh. But, we must complete construction of the roads within this fiscal,” said another official of the corporation.

The corporation is yet to convert 65km kachha roads within its limits into metalled ones. “We need funds to construct these roads,” he said.

The civic body, which is going through a financial crisis, has heaved a sigh of relief after handing over 28km of its road to the public works department (PWD).