BHUBANESWAR : Months after the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) rapped key urban bodies in the state for their poor drainage system, the Odisha government has launched an exercise to prepare drainage master plan and detailed project report (DPR) for all urban local bodies (ULBs) to address the issues of waterlogging and urban flooding.
Sources in the Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) department said proper drainage system will be developed in a comprehensive manner across all urban areas of the state to tackle urban deluge and waterlogging.
They said, stress is being laid for its swift implementation, keeping in view the various urban development projects the Odisha government has planned across all ULBs under both state and central government schemes.
Sources said a decision has been taken for drafting and finalisation of storm water drainage plan and DPRs for all ULBs in the state at the earliest. Accordingly, the State Urban Development Agency (SUDA), under the H&UD department, has initiated a process to rope in an expert agency which will provide the technical support for finalisation of storm water drainage plans for the civic bodies.
“The agency will also guide ULBs in adopting the latest technology with which the space available in them could be optimally utilised for creation of drainage network to deal with the issue of urban flooding and facilitate better urban living for the public,” an official from the department said.
The ULBs have been drawing flak for their poor drainage system that often result in heavy waterlogging and urban flooding across cities and towns in the state during monsoon.
In 2024, the CAG had pulled up the state government as well as five municipal corporations for their failure to work out drainage master plan to deal with the problem of waterlogging in their jurisdictions.
The audit watchdog had during a joint survey in 2022 found that width of 10 natural drains in Bhubaneswar, that ranged between 4.9 metre and 14.83 metre in the comprehensive development plan (CDP) 2010, constricted by two to three metre and encroached at different stretches. It had also pointed towards the reduction of the width of Daya West canal in Bhubaneswar, Petta Nullah in Cuttack and Dhobijore Nullah in Sambalpur.