Sambalpur, May 28: The development authority has submitted a proposal to the state government to increase its staff strength.

At present, the organisation, which is responsible for the planning, development and beautification of the city, has 27 employees.

“As Sambalpur is all set to become a corporation, the authority’s responsibility will increase now. It will be difficult to undertake developments with such limited employees. The area of jurisdiction of the Sambalpur Development Authority has also increased,” said Bijaya Mohanty, who has been re-appointed as its chairperson.

“We have submitted a proposal to the government to increase the staff strength to 55. Moreover, a full-time vice-chairperson and a secretary are also required,” he said.

The district collector holds the post of the authority’s vice-chairperson, while it does not have a full-time secretary.

The authority was established in 1995. At that time, its sanctioned staff strength was 27. Its area has expanded in 19 years. Moreover, 98 villages of Dhankauda, Rengali and Maneswar blocks, which are located adjacent to Sambalpur city, have also been included in the authority’s jurisdiction. Despite this, its staff strength has remained the same.

“The population has increased in the area. It is obvious that more administrative and technical staff members are required,” said an official.

“The development authority has undertaken several developments in the past few years. Moreover, the government has also sanctioned Rs 93 lakh for several projects. However, because of the limited staff members, the planning and development body has been facing problems in executing the projects,” he said.

“There are a number of land disputes and problems related to encroachment and illegal construction in the city. However, the authority fails to address the issues because of the limited staff members. The government should think of increasing the number of its employees, so that the projects could be carried out,” said local resident Bibhuti Panda.