Bhadrak: Three years have passed since the state government made a gazette notification about a
masterplan for Bhadrak to set right the civic mess. But the masterplan has been left untouched till date due to fund shortage even as people here go though all kinds of civic disorder amid growing township.
While the masterplan remains unimplemented, the gazette notification has thrown up restrictions on sale and purchase of land in its area. This has caused a lot of inconvenience for people in the town and its peripheral areas. The town is beset with various civic problems.
Keeping all civil problems in view and with a vision for development for coming 20 years, the masterplan of the town had been drawn up in 2013.
The plan envisions development for 1, 52, 536 square/km area encompassing 24 wards of the municipality and 24 adjoining revenue villages.
In 2013, the state government had assigned the work of drawing up the masterplan for the town to Gurugaon-based Feedback Infra. Rs 50lakh was spent for the preparation of the masterplan on the basis of satellite mapping, filed survey, geoclimatic condition and natural resources.
The consultant firm had prepared the plan in 13 months and handed it over to the housing and urban development department in February 2016.
The plan had got administrative approval after several rounds of workshops with the stakeholders. The district administration had forwarded the approved masterplan to the state government for issue of a gazette notification.
A host of development projects including bus terminals, hospitals, parks, well-planned drainage system, swimming pools and a ring road were incorporated in the masterplan.
After the approval of the plan, residents had hoped for immediate implementation of the AMRUT Yojana under which roads, bus terminals, industrial estates, playgrounds for housing boards, drainage lines and systems for waste management were to be developed in 24 wards of Bhadrak town and 24 revenue villages of eight panchayats.
Another major project included in the masterplan was an 18-km-long ring road which will ease traffic to a large extent inside the town. The bus stand is temporarily operated at Bant Chhak.
As the government is sitting over execution of the plan, no special town planning officer has been appointed till date. Residents have to suffer a lot due to restrictions on sale and purchase of their land.
Town planning officer Prashant Kumar Parida said copies of the masterplan have been given to all departments.
“Officials are working as per available budgets. The rural development department and the PWD were asked to identify and acquire land for the ring road project. The masterplan is not taking off due to fund shortage,” he said.
