Sambalpur, the commercial capital of western Odisha, is all set to get the status of a Municipal Corporation, the formal process of which would be started from October 1.
The Sambalpur Municipality, established as far back in 1883, would become fourth Municipal Corporation in the State after Bhubaneswar, Cuttack and Brahmapur.
“The State Government in principle has decided to upgrade the Sambalpur Municipality to a Municipal Corporation at a high-level meeting chaired by CM today (Tuesday) at the State Secretariat,” said Urban Development Minister Debi Prasad Mishra.
A formal Gazette Notification in this regard would be issued on October 1 after consultations with the law Department, said Mishra.
He said the decision was taken considering a detailed proposal that conforms to the criteria from the Sambalpur district Collector ending speculations and uncertainties.
The limits of the proposed Municipal Corporation consist of the seat of the Sambalpur metropolitan area, which includes Hirakud and Burla NACs and 12 gram panchayats spread over Dhankuda block (seven GPs) and Maneswar blcok (five GPs). The two NACs and the 12 GPs were included in the proposal to fulfil the criteria for converting Sambalpur into a full-fledged Municipal Corporation.
The Hirakud and Burla NACs and the a12 GPs have given their consents to become parts of the proposed Sambalpur Municipal Corporation, said the Minister.
With the extension of the limits, the total population of the proposed corporation would reach 3,35,764. At present, there are 30 wards in the Sambalpur Municipality having a population of 1,83,383.
The decision of creating the new corporation evoked mixed reactions from the leaders of different political parties as it came ahead of the 2014 general elections and at a time when the entire western Odisha has been witnessing administrative paralysis over the demand for establishment of a permanent Bench of the Odisha High Court in the region.
While the ruling BJD and opposition BJP leaders welcomed the announcement, their Congress counterparts, leader of Opposition in the State Assembly Bhupinder Singh and Sambalpur MP Amar Pradhan termed the move as election politics to neutralise the agitation over High Court Bench.
Sambalpur BJP MlA Jayanaryan Mishra, though expressing his satisfaction over the decision, said that making Sambalpur a Municipal Corporation would not serve the purpose if the Central schemes like the JNNURM are not implemented there to provide basic amenities and services to the citizens and to ensure infrastructural development.
Finance Minister Prasanna Acharya, who is from western Odisha, said the decision was taken in view of the longstanding demand of the citizens of Sambalpur.
The meeting was attended, among others, by Ministers Prasanna Aharya and Debi Prasad Mishra, Chief Secretary Jugal Kishore Mohaptra, Development Commissioner I Srinivas and the Secretaries of Urban Development and law Departments.