ROURKELA: The proposed mega wholesale market yard at Balughat and Transport Nagar at Beldihi here, which would have freed the city from the menace of heavy vehicles by shifting wholesale businesses to the outskirts, continue to be in limbo.
The necessity of both the projects has become urgent in the face of acute traffic and parking problems on the main roads. The Transport Nagar project was conceptualised in 2005 with a view to having an integrated facility combining a truck terminus with transport offices, godowns, shops, hotels, community utility centres, accommodations, weigh-bridge and service garages.
The Rourkela Municipal Corporation zeroed in on a site at Beldihi, about five km away from Panposh Square. Six years ago, the preliminary work to set up a truck terminus over 14.56 acre started. However, the work was stalled due to protests by tribals who claimed the project did not have Gram Sabha approval. There has been no development since.
Rourkela Goods Transporters’ Association president R K Yadav said, the association members had recently taken up the issue with Rourkela SP and Panposh Sub-Collector and requested them to expedite the project. They were assured that efforts would be made to revive the project at Beldihi or it would be shifted to a new location at Kuanrmunda.
Similarly, the wholesale market yard of the Regulated Market Committee (RMC) continues to hang fire even as the Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik laid its foundation stone in February 2014. The market yard at Balughat was to be established at a cost of `98.45 crore.
Rourkela Municipal Corporation (RMC) sources said `73 lakh was spent to erect perimeter walls, but construction work had stopped from February 2018 by the National Commission for Scheduled Tribe (NCST) citing land dispute involving local tribals.
Chairman of RMC’s sub-committee for works Ramesh Chandra Bal, however, accused the administration of adopting a lax attitude. The administration had failed to properly present the case before NCST. It is also not serious about the Transport Nagar project. It has been three years after Rourkela’s selection as Smart City but no steps are being taken for infrastructure development, he alleged.
Rourkela ADM and Corporation Commissioner Dr Yedulla Vijay offered no reaction over the stuck projects.