Bhubaneswar: The civic body will rope in non-governmental-organisations to help it provide a wide range of services with ease in a bid to improve facilities and to improve the quality living of residents.
The agencies will help the civic body in activities such as generating awareness on effects of open defecation, operation and maintenance of community toilets, natural disaster management, destitute and elderly care, social mobilisation on issues and the Swachh Bharat Mission.
These agencies will also aid civic officials in waste segregation, plastic waste management and other liquid waste management activities. The civic body has invited applications from interested non-profit and non-government organisations in the city.
"The agencies will benefit us while ensuring quality life for citizens. We are committed to improving civic facilities and will undertake all-round efforts to achieve it. We have taken the help of such agencies in the past, but will widen the scope this time," said a civic official.
The civic body is having a tough time implementing various plans - especially segregation of waste, management of irregularly dumped plastic waste that choke drains and cause waterlogging - in absence of additional help.
The open-defecation free status has also remained elusive in absence of awareness activities, mainly among slum dwellers. The housing and urban development department has set a deadline of October 1 for the civic body to attain the status.
"We were focusing on the slums first to declare them free from open defecation, but now we are working on the ward level. We are set to declare 26 wards free from open defecation. The help of these voluntary organisations will help us attain the status for other wards," said the official.
Residents, however, remain sceptical about the plans.
"Bhubaneswar is a big city. The civic body might not have enough manpower to maintain services. They should have thought of roping in such agencies much earlier. I hope things will improve this way," said Patia resident Ajit Pati.
