ROURKELA: Shoddy work of smart city projects undertaken in Rourkela before the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup-2023 has come to the fore days after the mega sporting event came to an end.A glaring example is the smart road phase-1 work from Panposh to Uditnagar. Craters have developed at many places on the ring road which was landscaped and beautified only two months back.
Similar is the condition of many pavements which were constructed with tiles on a war-footing by multiple agencies. Costly tiles were fitted hurriedly and haphazardly along the Rourkela main road. Despite heavy spending on beautification, the road pavements now wear an ugly look as tiles have started peeling off at many places, said former president of Rourkela district Congress committee Biren Senapati.
This apart, cable ducting chambers have been damaged on roads which were developed hastily before the World Cup. At many places, covers of sewerage manholes are above the road level.Similarly, iron railings surrounding the DAV pond were stolen by some miscreants a few days back. The pond which was developed into a recreational facility at a cost of over `15 crore, was inaugurated on January 5 by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
Sources said under pressure to meet the deadline, the local authorities focused on completion of priority roads and associated beautification works ahead of the sporting event. Despite frequent reviews by Chief Secretary SC Mohapatra and other senior officials, a major chuck of the development works could not be completed.
Many important roads taken up under the smart road phase 2 project including the Rourkela main road are yet to be completed. Some other major projects including the Rourkela One, science park and planetarium besides a recreational park are still incomplete.
Sources in the Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) said the road and tiled pavement projects have not yet been handed over to the civic body. The contractors concerned would be made to comply with the terms of agreement.
RMC commissioner and CEO of Rourkela Smart City Ltd Subhankar Mohapatra said payments for most of the projects have not been released yet. The firms would have to comply with the quality standards to get paid.