The broken sewer line of the Vinaydeep Apartment due to construction activities of a nearby building. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Aug. 6: About 600 people from 60 families of an apartment complex at Ashok Nagar are fighting for their sewer line to be connected with the main channel maintained by the Public Health Engineering Organisation.

As the Bhubaneswar Development Authority is taking time to issue a no-objection certificate (NOC) to the apartment that was built in 1993, the organisation has put its foot down.

Residents of Vinaydeep Apartment are now facing problems in getting rid of their wastewater. They have to regularly pump out the water, as their basement often gets flooded.

The development authority’s building standard regulations were introduced in the same year that the apartment was built.

In 1993, when the development authority’s planning section issued the building permission to the apartment, sewerage conditions were not mentioned on the certificate. Sources said the organisation started seeking the no-objection certificate from the apartment owners for sewer connections since 2008 after the state government had issued a notification.

The need for a renovated sewerage system became necessary for the apartment residents after the existing channel broke due to construction of a commercial housing complex on its adjacent plot.

“When our apartment was built, not a single apartment was given certificate of occupancy or an NOC by the authority. Of all the houses at Ashok Nagar, not one has sewer line connection after securing an NOC from the development authority. Why the organisation is demanding the same from us remains a mystery. We have come to know that a nearby multi-storey structure has already secured connections,” said president of the Vinaydeep Apartment Owners’ Society Rabindra Kumar Jena.

Jena said the society members had met the housing and urban development secretary, who realised that the owners should have an NOC from the development authority, so that the sewer line could be connected.

“We have approached the authority’s planning member and thought that our grievance would be addressed, but in vain. On the other hand, an official of the development authority now said there was a violation in the building plan, and therefore, the no-objection certificate could not be issued,” said Satrughna Sarangi, a senior member of the society.

Sarangi asked: “If there was a problem, why were the planners remained silent about the violation since 1993 when the construction took place? Did they keep mum only to discover it in 2013?”

He also said that when the top officials of the housing and urban development department were ready to grant the NOC, some officials of the development authority stalled the move.

“The plan deviation was not the residents’ fault but that of the builder. So why should we suffer now?” he asked.

“Many senior citizens stay here. The development authority must spare a thought for them, as the basement always stinks,” said Sunil Kumar Satpathy, a resident.

Planning member of the development authority Pitabasa Sahoo said: “There are issues regarding some plan deviation with the apartment. We have assured the association members to address them and they are likely to get an NOC within a fortnight.”