Bhubaneswar: The civic body has come up with guidelines for utilisation of funds to develop roads, drains and recreational facilities in underdeveloped wards of the city.

The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has drafted a special development plan for 13 wards to give additional grants to carry out various infrastructure projects.

While disbursing the funds, priority will be given to areas that have recently come under the civic fold.

According to the guidelines, the sanctioned funds would only be utilised to develop the pockets in the selected wards. The list has been prepared by zonal commissioners and finalised by the corporation. These funds cannot be utilised in other areas of the selected wards.

"We used to allot a similar amount to each ward every year for their overall development. However, it was felt that some wards needed more and others less. This is why we came up with the plan," said a civic official.

In the special development plan, there are two categories. Wards in the first category will get Rs 1 crore each, while the others will get Rs 50 lakh. The wards in Category A are numbers 4, 5, 18, 23, 49 and 65, while those in Category B are 3, 22, 44, 59, 64, 66 and 67.

Earlier, the corporation allotted Rs 1.5 crore to each ward for infrastructure work from its annual budget. "We have decided to sanction additional funds to the identified underdeveloped wards," he said.

The zonal commissioners and deputy commissioners will be responsible for error-free utilisation of the funds.

The projects would include street lights, solid waste management, construction of kalyan mandaps, parks, playgrounds, markets, big drains and roads.

Mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said five new areas had recently been brought under civic fold. "The plan for the underdeveloped wards will ensure proper development of each ward in terms of quality infrastructure," he said.