A workshop on city development plan-2040 for Baleswar city was held recently here with the plan having been strongly opposed. A draft prepared by a Nodia-based consultancy company was rejected for not addressing the real problems of the city. Most of the members alleged that the data given by the consultancy firm were taken from the Government offices and copied from the websites pertaining to the district and no ground survey work was done. There were allegations that several important issues of the district were not reflected in the draft.
Notably, the draft was prepared under the JNNURM in view of requirement of the city after 25 years. It included drinking water, sanitation, drainage, sewerage, road communication, health service and solid waste management etc. While it was a kind of vision document, yet it ended with no result although district Collector Sanatan Mallick , ADM Akshay Mohanty and the consultancy firm representatives were present. Former MlA Arun Dey, municipality chairman Alok Sahu, BRIT chairman Gour Kumar Rout and executive officer Subash Chandra Jena also attended.
“The draft was prepared by a private company without consulting with the stakeholders, such as NGOs, street vendors and other agencies working in the town. Most of the data were old and copied. Therefore, the available members in the meeting expressed strong dissatisfaction,” said a member who attended the meeting.