Bhubaneswar, Dec. 23: Chief minister Naveen Patnaik had etched a pledge on a stone that his own government has "demolished" 12 years later.

In October 2003, Naveen had laid the foundation stone for a 15-storey Gramodyog Bhavan at Kharavela Nagar.

However, oblivious of the existence of a foundation stone that proclaims building of the facility, micro, small and medium enterprises minister Jogendra Behera dismissed the project saying: "The government has no such proposal."

According to the original proposal, the bhavan - a multi-storeyed mall to promote khadi products - was supposed to come up on 3.8 acres on the premises of the Khadi Board at Kharavela Nagar. The board now operates from six offices built on 30,500sqft.

The 15-storeyed mall was to have come up for an estimated investment of around Rs 30 crore.

It had been planned that the Odisha Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation (Idco) and the board will enter into a joint venture to construct the mall.

On behalf of the government, Idco was entrusted with the task of building the mall on a turnkey basis. It had even been asked to engage a professional architect for preparing the design of the building.

The mall was expected to have come up by the end of 2013.

"But there has been no progress ever since," a board official said.

According to the plan, the first two floors of the mall were to have dealt exclusively in khadi products. Apart from khadi products, homemade papad, pickle and other household items were to have been available in the mall.

It was also planned that the mall would sell other products, but only after a committee set of for the purpose screened them.

The other 13 floors were to have been rented out to business establishments.

"One would have got almost everything under a single roof there," the boardofficial said.

Officials said that though the Khadi Board was set up in 1956, various khadi and village industries societies under it have since become defunct because of a lack of initiative on the part of the government.

"We want to be completely self-dependent by generating revenue from our own resources. Once this happens, we will be able to take a number of initiatives for the welfare of the employees," a board official said.

Now, the board has decided to take up the matter with the state government again. This time, though, it has decided to go alone.

President of Odisha Khadi and Village Industries Board Tejeswar Parida said: "We have decided to take it up with the state government again. With the help of Intach, we will conserve the existing buildings of the board within our premises. Now we plan to build a three-storey building, instead of the previously planned 15-storey mall. The new building will exclusively deal in khadi products. We have asked the government to make budgetary provisions for the same."

Parida said that the new building would be designed keeping the heritage value of khadi in mind.

"There will be an audio-visual hall and a library dedicated to the life and works of Mahatma Gandhi. A prayer hall will also be there apart from a food court and an ethnic court. A Khadi Haat will be set up on the lines of Delhi Haat," he said.