Bhubaneswar: Each of the three municipal corporation wards within the proposed Town Centre District along Janpath will get an additional Rs 1 crore to develop internal roads and drains among other civic infrastructure.

The decision of the Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited came after the councillors of these wards raised the issue of bad condition of internal roads and drains in their respective wards.

They said the roads and drains in these wards were not properly maintained or repaired and that had created a lot of resentment among the local residents.

"The condition of the roads and drains in my ward continues to remain in bad shape due to lack of funds to take up their repair and maintenance. This has upset local residents. After repeated requests, the municipal commissioner has assured to give an additional grant of Rs 1 crore to our wards," said ward No. 30 councillor Saswati Mishra.

A number of posh localities, including Saheed Nagar, Satya Nagar, Kharavela Nagar, Bapuji Nagar and Ashok Nagar, form part of this stretch.

The Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited and the civic body have earmarked a 746-acre patch on this stretch for redevelopment with world-class infrastructure under the Smart City Mission. However, the inner parts of these wards continue to wallow in neglect.

"The entire Janpath stretch and its nearby areas will be transformed under the smart city's area-based development. However, the adjacent areas remain in a bad state when it comes to quality infrastructure. There is a need to provide good infrastructure to the linked areas. We hope to maintain the infrastructure properly with the additional grant," said an official of civic body.

With this additional grant, these civic wards will get Rs 2.5 crore annually for development and maintenance of roads and drains among others.

"The road in our area has been lying in a dilapidated state for a long time. We have filed several complaints with our councillors and the civic body, but they are yet to take any concrete step about it," said Ravi, a teashop owner at Sriya Square.

Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said the money from the Bhubaneswar Smart City Limited would be utilised to develop roads, drains and parks.

"There is a need to develop the infrastructure of smart districts in line with our vision since we have decided to provide additional grants to these wards," he said.