Cuttack, Jan. 19: In an affidavit filed in Orissa High Court, the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) has submitted a proposal for the development and renovation of eight private tanks and one government tank in public-private-partnership (PPP) mode at an estimated cost of Rs 1.5 crores.

The affidavit said the municipal corporation had received Rs 1.5 crores from the state urban and housing development department for preservation of waterbodies and had decided to utilise it for renovating nine tanks in the first phase.

Ashutosh Samal, secretary of the CMC, had filed the affidavit on behalf of the municipal commissioner in pursuance of a direction issued by the high court on January 6, 2011 to submit details on the development plans of government and private waterbodies.

The high court was monitoring steps for protection and conservation of the waterbodies while adjudicating a PIL on the depleting waterbodies in the city.

The PIL had raised concerns alleging that the city, which once had more than 1400 tanks and waterbodies, have been left with 200-odd waterbodies now.

Official reports indicated that a mapping of waterbodies in Cuttack by the Orissa Remote Sensing Application Centre (ORSAC) had revealed that there were 424 waterbodies in 1990. They had reduced to 245 in 2006.

According to the affidavit, CMC’s proposal for development of waterbodies through PPP mode at an estimated cost of Rs 1.2 crore included the Rastrabhasa Pond (Rs 11 lakh), the Sidheswara Sahi Pond (Rs 10 lakh), the Peytin Sahi Pond (Rs 10 lakh), the Lala Matha Pond (Rs 19 lakh), the Laxminarayan Pond (Rs 11 lakh), the Nilakantheswar Mandir Tank (Rs 21 lakh), the Gamhadia Pond (Rs 17 lakh) and the Beleswar Mandira Tank (Rs 21 lakh).

Development of one government waterbody, Sishu Bhavan Pond, had been planned at an estimated cost of Rs 30 lakh.

The affidavit further stated that the corporation plans to acquire and renovate the Kanika Pokhari at Kanika Chakh and the Kaliyadalwana Pokhari at Pithapur.

“Since the Kanika Pokhari is spread over a vast area of 6.910 acres, it is proposed that in the first phase a portion of the total area would be acquired and developed. The approximate cost for the same has been proposed at Rs 2.30 crore. Similarly, the acquiring and renovating cost of the entire Kaliyadalwana Pokhari has been estimated at Rs 1.20 crore,” sources in the CMC said.

“A proposal for acquisition and subsequent development of the two private waterbodies shall be submitted to the government with a project report of Rs 3.5 crores for sanction,” the CMC secretary said.

The corporation, as part of its bid to preserve waterbodies of the city, had earlier asked the public not to convert waterbodies or Jalasaya Kisam lands for commercial or residential purposes.