Sambalpur, Feb. 19: The proposed second maternity care centre in the city, foundation stone of which was laid seven years ago, is yet to be operational.

“There was a proposal to develop the Khetrajpur dispensary into a maternity care centre. The Sambalpur Municipality had also started constructing the building, but stopped it midway. Seven years have passed, but the proposal is yet be materialised,” said Ganesh Paliwal, a local resident.

The civic body seemed reluctant to complete the construction of the dispensary building, he said.

“It is unfortunate that the civic body is not serious about the centre, which, once done is expected to cater to pregnant women and newborns,” said Parag Agrawal, another local resident.

Former chairperson of the Sambalpur Municipality Girish Patel said: “We had a proposal to develop the Khetrajpur dispensary into a maternity care centre. Former Rajya Sabha member Surendra Lath had also contributed funds from his Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme. The construction had also begun.”

The foundation stone for the proposed centre was laid during Patel’s tenure in 2005.

Present chairperson of the municipality Reena Trivedi said: “Half of the structure has been completed. However, the construction work has been stopped because of dearth of funds. We need around Rs 10 lakh to complete the remaining one .”

Trivedi said they had had approached the Western Odisha Development Council and the health minister for funds.

“If we cannot arrange funds from other sources, the municipality will complete the construction from its own resources,” she said.