The building for the zonal office of BSE under construction in Sambalpur. Telegraph picture

Sambalpur, Aug. 28: Construction of a permanent zonal office building of the Board of Secondary Education (BSE) near Jail Chowk here is progressing at a snail’s pace.

Four years have elapsed, but construction only up to the plinth level has been completed so far.

The office, which caters to over one lakh students in nine districts of western Odisha, has been running from a rented house for the past 38 years.

However, the house has its own set of problems such as lack of space, a leaking roof and high monthly rent of Rs 25,500. The office has its storeroom at the Zila High School here.

Deputy secretary of BSE’s zonal office Suryamani Majhi said construction of the permanent building by the public works department (PWD) was moving slowly.

“The estimated budget for the new structure is Rs 1.63 crore. It will come up on 12,000sqft. The roads and buildings division of the PWD has undertaken the work,” said Majhi

Majhi said he had written to the authorities concerned to expedite the work, but roads and buildings officials had defended them by stating that construction had come to a halt due to the monsoon.

“The officials also said that the estimated cost of the building would be revised and construction work would resume soon,” said the deputy secretary.

The zonal office was set up here in 1975 and covered 800 schools in Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Bargarh, Deogarh, Sundargarh, Balangir, Sonepur, Kalahandi and Nuapada districts.

It runs from a two-storey rented house at Pensionpara here. Now, it caters to as many as 2,000 schools having nearly 1.5 lakh students.

The office is responsible for smooth conduct of Class X board examinations, publication of results, issue of certificates and correction of certificates.