Cuttack, Jan. 21: The development authority has been accused of failing to spend over 27 per cent of the budget allocation for maintenance of the Biju Patnaik Park over the past seven years.

An amount of Rs 1.78 crore had been granted between 2007-08 and 2013-14 for the park. But, Rs 49 lakh lies unused.

A PIL filed in Orissa High Court has sought judicial intervention for proper maintenance and management of the park that sprawls over 32.3 acres at Sector 12 at Bidanasi on the southwestern fringe of the city.

Bijoy Kumar Behura, 80, a former government nominated member of the Greater Cuttack Improvement Trust and the then town planning authority, filed the PIL on the basis of information assessed through the RTI.

Behura has sought formation of a committee of retired judges, bureaucrats, sportspersons and experts to submit a fact-finding report on the park's condition, along with other parks in the city.

The petition had come up before the bench hearing PILs on civic problems in Cuttack city last week. 'After a preliminary hearing, the division bench of Justice Indrajit Mahanty and Justice S.C. Parija posted the matter to next sitting of the bench on January 30 for hearing, along with response from the state government,' petitioner's counsel Dilip Mohapatra said.

'The court issued showcause notices to the urban development department secretary, Cuttack Development Authority vice-chairman and the Cuttack Municipal Corporation commissioner,' Mohapatra said.

Behura has alleged that the vast area, especially the garden, lawns, hedges, flower beds and pathways along with large number of teak and fruit-bearing trees were not being managed properly despite budget allocation.

On an average, Rs 25.49 lakh was made available a year by way of budget allocation between 2007 and 2014. But, around Rs 7 lakh was not spent.The authority failed to spend Rs 12,03,995 (44 per cent) of the Rs 27,37,300 budget allocation in 2008-09 and Rs 12,90,793 (45 per cent) of Rs 28,37,481 in 2011-12.