Bhubaneswar, Jan. 12: The municipal corporation intends to spend another Rs 25 lakh for renovating and cleaning the holy Bindusagar, on which Rs 20 crore has already been spent in the past five years.
The historical tank still remains highly polluted and is in dire need of repairs, inspiring the question if all those crores of taxpayers' money just went down the drains.
Though Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials refused to go on record about why Bindusagar needed repairs so soon, unofficially, a few of them admitted that it was because of the lack of a proper plan in the first place.
The latest investment of Rs 25 lakh is intended to rectify the problems in the work carried out over the past five years.
"The lack of a proper perspective plan led to the Bindusagar situation getting back to square one. In order to overcome these recurring problems, we have planned to hire an expert agency that will provide a dynamic plan for restoration of the tank," said a senior BMC official, who did not want to be named.
Sources said that last month the BMC invited bids for preparation of a detailed project report for the renovation and cleaning of Bindusagar. Rs 25 lakh has been earmarked for the purpose.
Though reliable sources said a Gurgaon-based company had been selected for preparing the detailed project report, BMC city engineer Dwaipayan Pattnaik refused to confirm the development and said the final decision was yet to be taken.
"We have invited requests for proposal from interested agencies for drawing the detailed project report, but with the code of conduct for the corporation election in place, we were unable to hold meetings for taking a decision. Once the code of conduct restrictions are withdrawn, we will call a meeting of the contract committee and select the agency," said Pattnaik, adding the selected agency would be a public sector undertaking.
The corporation has already spent more than Rs 20 crore on the renovation and cleaning of the tank. While around Rs 10 crore was spent on renovation and beautification, Rs 6 crore was spent to build a walkway around the tank and Rs 4.3 crore on cleaning it.
Last year, the BMC had also planned a project to increase the water level of Bindusagar by connecting it to Daya river through underground pipelines.
The project is yet to materialise. Most of the funds for Bindusagar's renovation have been sanctioned under the Centre's Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.
"We and our officials have been trying hard to restore the historical tank. We have already floated the tender for its beautification. The agency will be selected on the basis of our requirements and work will begin accordingly. A wastewater treatment plant will also be built by the BMC. This will treat the wastewater before discharging it into the tank," said mayor Ananta Narayan Jena.
However, the cleaning work of the Bindusagar has raised fears about the tank losing its biodiversity.
"Bindusagar houses a lot of natural resources and micro-organisms such as weeds, azolla and other flora and fauna. The civic body should ensure cleaning of the tank in a scientific manner. The micro-organisms help reduce the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere," said environmentalist and director of Centre for Environmental Studies Sailabala Padhi.
"The holy tank is decaying with every passing year. The water level is decreasing and pollution is increasing. Nearly 80 small and medium temples, including the Lingaraj temple, depend on the water of Bindusagar. The administration should take up the issue seriously and initiate concrete steps for its restoration," said Niladri Nayak, a resident of Old Town.
