ROURKELA: Rourkela Smart City Ltd (RSCL), a Special Purpose Vehicle to implement Smart City projects, continues to draw flak from various quarters due to its dysfunctional state. Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha on November 19, Sundargarh MP Jual Oram (BJP) sought intervention of the Central Government to expedite pending development projects.
“Rourkela is the second Smart City of Odisha. Yet, grants received in 2015-16 and 2016-17 financial years have not been entirely spent,” Oram said, adding that out of Rs 37.06 crore, only Rs 22.23 crore was shown as “spent” and that included expending Rs 16.37 crore towards salaries of officers, staff and establishment costs. “I urge the Centre to direct the State Government to speed up projects lying idle,” he said.
Earlier, on September 25, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan too had written to Chief Minister Naveeen Patnaik and Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri on the unused funds for development projects.
Jual in January 2018 had written to the Chief Minister and expressed concern over the posting of a junior officer in the rank of Rourkela ADM at the helm of RSCL.
He had said as per the State Government’s decision, officers of the rank of Additional Secretary should be appointed to handle Smart City projects. Rourkela was declared Smart City in September, 2016. The Steel City is set to host Hockey World Cup 2023.