In a bid to make Smart City Bhubaneswar smarter to offer a holistic experience to the visitors for the Men’s Hockey World Cup (HWC) at the Kalinga Stadium here, the Chief Minister had envisioned a smart network, smart mobility and smart environment for the State capital.
On instructions of the Chief Minister, the Chief Secretary had called for a joint coordination meeting of various line departments in October first week to ensure that a world-class infrastructure is developed for the city for the HWC.
But the Work Department which has a major responsibility for stadium upgradation, road widening and beautification in the city has been accused of using substandard materials, jacking up bids, sanctioning projects which were not needed at all and showing favouritism to contractors.
The officials-contractors nexus’s main motto is to mint money. In the process, the CM’s directives have been flouted. To make matters worse, Works Secretary Nalini Kanta Pradhan, the Chief Engineer (Roads) and 30 Assistant Executive Engineers of the Works Department are working on an ad hoc basis after their superannuation from service.
So, it is no surprise that there is no accountability and they are not bothered to maintain the quality and quality required to develop world class infrastructure for a prestigious international event like the HWC.
For example, the semi-dense bitumen carpet (SDMC) being done on the major roads of the city is of very inferior quality. Thickness of the SDBC coat should not below the stipulated 25 mm. But it is not the case. Similarly, same is the case with the thermo plastic paint being used to mark the roads.
As the paint is very costly, lime is being mixed in huge quantities and money is being embezzled.
At many places in the city from near the Pokhariput flyover, Mahatab road in Old Town and many other places roads or the pavements have been dug up by the Odisha Water Supply and Sewerage Board (OWSSB), which proves the lack of coordination between different agencies.
Majority of the bungling have been done under the Works Department Division-III under which major chunk of work including the Kalinga Stadium is being carried out. And Division -II is not lagging behind.
It is alleged that the Span Agency, which has been awarded majority of the works, has been shown undue favour and there are suspicions of tender-fixing by senior officials.
But a major concern is that no inspection about the quality of works is being carried out.
The Works Department top mandarins are only concerned how to hurriedly complete the works and fatten their pockets least bothered about higher rates, poor site management, delays and quality compromises.
The intelligentsia has demanded a high-level probe by an independent agency to unearth the engineers-contractors collusion which threatens to crumble the HWC edifice.