Since its inception in 1983, the autonomous Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) has taken up a number of development projects including housing, commercial complexes, roads and parks. On its 34th foundation day, The Telegraph takes a look at the successes and failures of its latest projects

Paikarapur Housing Project

In January, the BDA had announced two major housing projects and named them Paikarapur Phase I and Paikarapur Phase II. A total of 368 flats were put up for sale in the two projects. Both projects have houses for low-income group (LIG), middle-income group (MIG) and high-income group (HIG). The sale ended in April and revealed that while Phase I was a hit, Phase II found few takers. Buyers cited bad planning and fewer amenities such as inadequate parking places. The BDA has mostly 1BHK and 2BHK apartments in Phase II of the project. The BDA advertised again for the housing project in May and the process is still under way.

Nayapalli Commercial Complex

The BDA has developed a high-end two-storey commercial complex at the strategic Nayapalli location. In January, it notified interested buyers to take part in the auction process of the property. However, the commercial complex found no takers. It again invited buyers in May and found only one interested person. The allotment officer of the project cites high price as the reason for this. While the ground floor was priced at Rs 7.47 crore, the first floor came for Rs 7.39 crore and the second floor was priced at Rs 6.79 crore.

Online auction

One of the major achievements of the development authority this year is the introduction of the hassle-free online auction process for selling housing projects. The BDA introduced the new system to sell property at its Ananta Vihar Duplex project. This housing project is designed mainly for the high-income group. Officials say one of the major reasons for introducing this new system is to ensure transparency in the selling process.  

Open-air gyms

A new concept introduced by the BDA is open-air gyms. The BDA had opened the gyms at Buddha Jayanti Park, Biju Patnaik Park, Guru Kelucharan Park, Madhusudan Park, Kharavela Park, Indira Gandhi Park, Dharma Vihar Park, Unit VIII Park, Harekrushna Mahatab Park and Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Park in Bhubaneswar. The open-air gyms in the parks proved a hit with citizens. Besides, the development authority is also in the process of introducing three indoor gyms outside Buddha Jayanti Park in Chandrasekharpur, Kharavela Park at Khandagiri and the third in front of BDA's HIG Duplex at Pokhariput.

Text by Sandeep Mishra