BHUBANESWAR: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Urban Development has expressed displeasure over the progress of ongoing development projects in the Capital under Smart City project. At a review meeting held in Puri on Saturday, the Committee headed by MP Jagadambika Pal were critical of poor execution of drainage project in Bhubaneswar.
The panel directed Housing and Urban Development department to prepare a master plan for combating the menace of drainage and water-logging, at the earliest.
Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi, who had brought the issue to the Committee’s notice, said formulation of a comprehensive plan for drainage is important to link 10 natural drains with Gangua Nullah and address the problem of urban flooding during monsoon.
"It should be a holistic plan with approximate estimate. Whatever is happening on this front, like haphazard construction of drains, is adhocism. We need to solve the problem once and for all," Sarangi said.
During the meeting, the committee members also discussed major bottlenecks in urban governance. Progress of Smart City Mission, drainage problems in Bhubaneswar, performance of 114 Urban Local Bodies under Swachh Bharat Mission and progress of PMAY (Urban) were also discussed.
Though the Committee appreciated the move of HUD department to set up micro-composting centres in civic bodies, it was very critical of the overall poor sanitary conditions in Bhubaneswar and other ULBs of the State.
Odisha is the third worst performer in Swachh Bharat Mission after Bihar and Jammu- Kashmir. Besides, only two out of 114 ULBs are open defecation free. Around 40 pc population in Bhubaneswar lives in slums and 80 pc households in slums resort to open defecation, the committee members pointed out.
The Committee members raised concern over slow progress of PMAY (Urban) scheme. It was revealed at the meeting that there is a demand for 5.02 lakh dwelling units in the State under PMAY (Urban).
However, only 1.5 lakh units have been sanctioned of which work on only 68,000 units has been completed. Stating that around one lakh dwelling unit under PMAY (Urban) is required for Bhubaneswar alone, Sarangi urged the Committee to take note of the issue.