The 14-member Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Odisha Assembly headed by its chairman and leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh on Monday visited Cuttack to review the progresses made in providing drinking water facilities to the Silver City and also to review the progress made in the ambitious Rs 750-crore Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) project.
While PAC several members expressed their displeasure over the poor pipe water facility in the city, the officials were asked to ensure that the old and damaged pipes supplying drinking water to the city residents are replaced immediately. Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (RWSS) engineers, however, assured that replacement of all old and damaged pipes would be done by March 2014.
Similarly, the members also discussed about the progress so far made in the JICA project, which envisages construction of separate drainage and sewerage system in the city with the help of technical knowhow from the USA, Japan and France. The project, expected to be completed by 2014, is unlikely to meet the deadline, the engineers said. The PAC was informed that the project would not see the light of the day before 2017.
The PAC meeting here on the day, however, witnessed an unpleasant scene when two senior BJD members Ranendra Pratap Swain of Athagarh and Pravat Ranjan Biswal of Choudwar-Cuttack were engaged in an argument over an issue. Swain even during the meeting threatened to walk away if members raise personal matters to be discussed. However, with intervention of another BJD member Sanjay Dasburma, the warring members cooled down.