ROURKELA:Technical flaws in civic jurisdiction emerging out of the Industrial Township Act, 1994 have posed major hurdles for overall growth of the city. With the city divided between Rourkela Industrial Township (RIT) and Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC), some overlapping pockets of both the bodies continue to be deprived of welfare measures.
The undivided Rourkela City with total population of about 5.25 lakh comprises RIT of RSP with 2.16 lakh population and RMC limits with 3.09 lakh population. With technical difficulties often becoming bottlenecks to propel city’s overall growth, leaders cutting across party lines have been demanding scrapping of the Government notification of 1995.
Rourkela BJP MLA Dilip Ray said in violation of the settlement agreement, the RSP is least bothered about development of slums and colonies under RIT limits. He said about one lakh population of these slums and resettlement colonies are deprived of basic facilities as they neither come under gram panchayat nor RMC governance.
Ray said RIT and RMC areas overlap each other at many places and the RMC is not able to implement any development project without permission of RSP. Similarly, restructuring of Rourkela Assembly constituency and RN Pali constituency in 2009 also created confusion, he added. Claiming that he had raised the issue in the Assembly, Ray insisted on formation of greater RMC with compact areas as inclusion of Jagda and Jhartarang panchayats in the RMC landed in court litigation and tribal protest.
RMC sources said Industrial Township Act, 1994 had come into existence after a resolution was passed in the Assembly. After Government notification on April 15, 1995, RIT became the country’s first industrial township.
The Civil Township NAC, which was converted into Rourkela Municipality in 1987, was upgraded to RMC in 2014. For RSP areas, it was Steel Town NAC which was responsible for its administration. But, the NAC was merged with Rourkela Municipality in 1995 and the new RIT jurisdiction was created.
Significantly, slum residents of RIT have been desperately trying their merger with the RMC. After an interim order of Orissa High Court, the RSP allowed merger of seven small slums with combined population of about 7,800 with RMC, but there has been no progress for the left out slums.
Sources said the RIT spread over 19 Sectors has 24,500 staff quarters, 5,675 shops, 350 kms paved road network, 500 kms of water supply lines and 1,812 kms of power transmission lines. Rourkela Development Authority (RDA) Chairman and former BJD minister Sarada Prasad Nayak echoed similar views, adding that RSP has failed to ensure development of slums on its land and dispute over territorial jurisdiction is a great hindrance for the city’s growth.
Former Congress MLA Pravat Mohapatra, during whose tenure the notification had come into force, claimed that he did not sign the settlement agreement between Sundargarh district administration and RSP. He wanted immediate removal of the Industrial Township Act, 1994.