Bhubaneswar, Aug. 24: Taxpayers' money that is supposed to be spent on the city's development will land in the pockets of a private party. This is what a few councillors, who don't want to be named, have alleged about the municipal corporation's foot overbridge venture at Jayadev Vihar.

They worry that the foot overbridge, which has been built in public-private-partnership mode - may not yield the expected revenues for the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation and instead benefit the private agency that had executed the project.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, the councillors alleged that the private agency would earn crores of rupees a year from advertisements while the civic body would get paid a meagre Rs 5 lakh a month as tax. They expressed these fears even as just a few days remain before the foot overbridge is inaugurated on August 31, Local Self-government Day.

Some of the councillors, who visited the foot overbridge yesterday, said that after the inauguration, the bridge would be handed over to the private company, an advertising agency that had made a successful bid for the project. They said the Jayadev Vihar foot overbridge would be a loss-making project for the civic body because unlike other PPP projects, this one will be handed over entirely to the private partner, which will earn money by putting up advertisements. They said that had the civic body some share in the project, it would have earned the required amount of money instead of getting a mere percentage.

In other PPP projects, the corporation segregates the share on percentage basis, whereas in this project, the civic body won't have a share as the bridge was built solely and will be maintained only by the private partner. The partner will provide a mere percentage of the amount it will collect towards advertising tax.

Cuttack-based company Ajanta Advertisers executed the project at a cost of Rs 3.5 crore. According to the project agreement, following construction the company will take the bridge's charge, including its maintenance and use the structure for advertising.

The corporation earns Rs 2.20 crore a month on an average from tax for advertisements in the city. In case of the foot overbridge, the private agency will place a 20x10 LED display board, along with flex and hoardings. Sources said such methods of advertisement would bring in revenues worth about Rs 20 lakh to Rs 25 lakh to the private partner every month, which could amount to crores of rupees in earnings by the end of a year.

A spokesperson of Ajanta Advertisers said the agency had provided all possible facilities at the foot overbridge, including elevators, drinking water and LED lighting, even though these were not part of the agreement. "We are not violating any norms. On the contrary, we are providing extra facilities," the spokesperson, who did not want to be named, told The Telegraph.

The councillors also questioned the plan of constructing the foot overbridge near a popular mall. "The place is mostly frequented by well-heeled people who come in their own vehicles and do not need the foot overbridge to cross the road. The foot overbridge would have been more useful had it been built near the Kalinga Hospital, XIMB or the Fortune Towers on the same road," said one councillor.

Jayadev Vihar resident Narayan Maharana agreed. "There are other important institutions on this stretch such as hospitals and educational institutions. The foot overbridge should have been built near any one of these institutions instead of the mall," he said.

Reacting to the councillors' allegations, mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said the property belonged to works department as the bridge had been built over a road that belonged to them. "The project was taken up in public-private-partnership mode in which the private party spent all the money. The advertiser will pay us according to the existing rules," said Jena.