Post News Network
Baliapal, Feb 14: Buildings worth crores of rupees constructed in the eighties for the people who were to be displaced by the national test range (NTR) in Bhogarai and Baliapal have been lying unused for the last three decades. About 20 per cent of the defense budget was earmarked for the project by then Union government.
Keeping in mind the problems of the people well ahead of displacement, the government had developed infrastructure for a cooperative cotton mill, a Doordarshan relay centre, a model village at Bahabalpur, a 50-bed hospital and a government ITI. Rasgobindpur airstrip and hilltop of Nilagiri were initially part of the NTR project.
However, bowing down to stiff public protests, the Union government was forced to abandon the NTR project. As a result, scores of buildings built for the purpose have been rendered useless for three decades.
The state government made use of eight buildings as a community health centre and a milk cold-storage, while the other buildings are lying unused.
Idco had undertaken the construction work of these buildings in 1982-83. It had completed about 80 per cent of the work. The current value of these buildings has been estimated at `30 to 35 crore. Besides, `4 crore had been paid to people as compensation towards land acquisition. Source said Idco has not yet received all its dues towards construction of such infrastructure. Land and buildings have also not been entrusted to Idco.
At Bahabalpur, buildings have been in ruins while some have been dismantled by locals. The land acquired for the purpose is also being cultivated by many people. However, no steps are being taken to retrieve the land. The cotton mill has also been lying closed for a long time.
Earlier, there was a plan to open an extension campus of Fakir Mohan University in the area, but the plan was later shelved into cold-storage.
Locals have urged the state government to make use of the infrastructure for benefit of the area.
