Cuttack: The Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) is yet to begin restoration work of eight ponds in the Silver City here even though the civic body had received an order in this regard from the Orissa High Court at least eight years ago.
Moreover, it has been alleged that some people are trying to sell a few of these ponds after filling them with sand. These people have allegedly changed the land category through mutation, sources said.
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL), filed in the High Court in 2004, had expressed concern over accumulation of silt and garbage in all major ponds of the city. The petitioner had informed the court that the groundwater level in the Silver City has gone down considerably due to the absence of water recharge.
The petitioner had also claimed that the city has been facing severe water-logging during rainy season due to silting up of ponds. In 2010, the HC had directed the CMC to restore all major ponds, both under public and private ownerships. The court had also asked the civic body to acquire some of the ponds under private ownership for restoration work.
Accordingly, the CMC had identified Sishubhawan pond, Kanika pond, Kaliyadalan pond, Rashtrabhasha pond, Siddheswarsahi pond, Petinsahi pond, Lalamatha pond, Laxminarayan pond, Nilakantheswar pond, Gamhadia pond and Beleswar pond for restoration. Among these ponds, only Sishubhawan pond comes under public ownership.
The CMC had decided to undertake the restoration work under public-private-partnership (PPP) mode. It had also signed MoUs in this regard with some private parties. Subsequently, the Urban Development Department had sanctioned five crore rupees for the project, sources said.
However, the civic body has failed to restore any of the eight ponds. “The CMC did not take any step to restore the ponds. Now, some people are trying to sell these ponds after land mutation. Some officials of the civic body and local tehsil office are involved in the illegal act,” alleged a social activist.
When contacted, CMC commissioner Sarat Nayak rejected the allegation of land mutation and claimed that they have completed tenders for restoration of a few ponds. But, he denied commenting on the delay in the implementation of the project.