Bhubaneswar, Aug. 18: Amrut's rejuvenating effect may be delayed.

Residents here have to wait a little longer for parks, water supply and water metering under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (Amrut) scheme because of the local administration's dillydallying.

Under Amrut, the public health engineering organisation (Pheo), the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the Odisha Water Supply and Sewerage Board (OWSSB) have joined hands to execute 16 projects in the city. The deadline for these projects is March next year.

However, a document accessed by The Telegraph on the status of these projects revealed that since January, when the scheme was officially launched in the state, the city administration has been able to float only three tenders and no work has started.

Sources said tenders had been invited only for three parks.

The document revealed that Bhubaneswar was lagging behind eight other cities of the state - Cuttack, Puri, Berhampur, Rourkela, Sambalpur, Balasore, Bhadrak and Baripada - included in the scheme.

On June 25, Bhubaneswar mayor Ananta Narayan Jena, along with housing and urban development minister Puspendra Singho Deo, had laid the foundation stone for two parks under the scheme at Sailashree Vihar and Kanan Vihar.

However, no physical progress has been made on these projects. Though the municipal corporation has got the project report for the third park at Niladri Vihar, it is yet to award the contract to anyone.

Niladri Vihar resident Suchsmita Mishra said: "There are no good parks in our area. We were happy when we heard that the administration planned to develop one. However, looking at the pace of work, I am doubtful if we will have a ready park even in the next five years."

Asked about the delay, city engineer Dwaipayan Pattnaik said Engineers India Limited (EIL) was preparing project reports for the parks and the civic body was inviting tenders after getting the reports. "The tenders for the parks at Sailashree Vihar, Kanan Vihar and Niladri Vihar have been floated and work will begin shortly. However, we are yet to get the project report for the park at Dumduma," said Pattnaik.

Civic body officials blamed EIL, a government of India undertaking, for the delay.

"EIL has delayed the projects by over a year as it is taking a lot of time in preparing the detailed project reports and detailed tender call notice," said an official, adding that without these two final reports, it is impossible to float tenders and award the work to anyone.

Dumduma resident Babula Dash said it was sad that Bhubaneswar was lagging behind in providing basic services.

"The government should take these projects in a public-private-partnership mode to complete them on time," said Dash, a schoolteacher.

Besides the parks, the 16 projects also include 12 Pheo projects, mainly water metering and replacement of old pipes in several localities. Pheo superintending engineer C.R. Jena said they had recently got the detailed project report from EIL for the water metering and were in the process of floating the tender. He said work on water metering and replacement of pipes would begin by November.

Environmentalist Sailabala Padhi said the administration should expedite the work, especially in replacing old pipelines, because it would otherwise result in health concerns in the form of water-borne diseases such as jaundice and diarrhoea.

"The administration should at least ensure safe supply of drinking water to the citizens," said Padhi.

The sewerage board was to execute one septage treatment plant in the city under Amrut, but work hasn't started yet.

"Initially, the plan was to set up the plant at VSS Nagar, but the idea was scrapped by the National Green Tribunal. Now, we have decided on an alternative site and will ask EIL to prepare the project report shortly," said an official of the board.