On the eve of the Self-Government Day, the BJP on Wednesday said the State Government has failed to provide citizen-centric facilities and houses to slum dwellers in urban areas despite making promises repeatedly.

“The scheduled marathon inauguration and foundation-stone laying programmes of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on the Self-Government Day are nothing but a drama to hoodwink common people. During last 17 years, the State Government has only made promises to provide land patta and pucca houses to slum dwellers but not implemented them,” BJP State vice-president Sameer Mohanty told a Press conference here.

He said while the Chief Minister had earlier announced to expedite land transfer process for 107 acres in November 2015 and construct 32,000 pucca houses for slum dwellers during 2015-16 under the Awas Mission, nothing has been done yet.Mohanty said the State Government has also failed to provide drinking water to urban residents. While it had planned to replace 500-km long old water pipes on July 2016, no progress has yet been marked in this regard. Consumption of contaminate water has helped spread of jaundice and other diseases in urban areas, he said.

Similarly, waste management programmes, establishment of common toilets, sanitation, drainage and sewerage systems have remained unsuccessful in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar during the last 17 years, he alleged. The JAICA projects have been delayed and people are suffering a lot due to inefficiency of the State Government, he said.

Similarly, various projects being done under the fully Centrally-sponsored JNNURM in Bhubaneswar and Puri have been fully unsuccessful due to lack of willpower of the State Government.

Among others, State spokesperson Sajjan Sharma was present.