ROURKELA: With a bulk of Rs 376 crore, sanctioned for smart city projects lying idle, the Rourkela Smart City Ltd (RSCL) is under fire for its casual approach.
Failure of RSCL to implement development projects under the Smart City Mission has come in for criticism again with Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan on September 25 shooting off separate letters to Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Union Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri seeking their intervention to expedite the pending projects.
Pradhan wrote that from 2015-16 to 2017-18, an amount of Rs 376 crore ( Rs 188 crore each by State and Central Governments) was sanctioned for the smart city projects. However, only Rs 22.23 crore was spent, including Rs 16.37 crore on consultancy fees and salaries.
Pradhan raised the issue after Odisha unit BJP secretary Dhiren Senapati sought information on the project through RTI.