Cuttack drainage project: Orissa HC flags irregularities in Rs 335 crore DPRs, questions CMC

The Orissa High Court came down heavily on the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) and the Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) Department over alleged procedural lapses in the vetting of Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for the ambitious Rs 335.42 crore branch surface water channel (BSWC) drainage project in Cuttack.

In an order dated August 14, a two-judge bench of the High Court questioned why the DPRs for five major branch storm water drains were reviewed by Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT), Burla, instead of IIT Bhubaneswar, despite a clear government directive issued on May 30 instructing CMC to get the hydraulic designs vetted by IIT.

Court Flags Contradictions

The court noted that the decision to involve VSSUT was taken by the private project management consultancy firm in consultation with CMC, but without any official explanation for bypassing IIT-Bhubaneswar.

City engineer of CMC defended the move, claiming that VSSUT had successfully vetted several drainage DPRs in the past and possessed technical capabilities on par with IIT.

However, the bench expressed doubt over this assertion, observing that the affidavit submitted by CMC contradicted official correspondence. While the city engineer maintained that IIT-Bhubaneswar’s role was never discussed during the April 30 review meeting, subsequent government letters indicated otherwise.

Affidavit Ordered by September 18

Raising concerns over the integrity of the vetting process, the bench directed the principal secretary of H&UD to file a detailed affidavit before the next hearing on September 18. The affidavit must clarify:

• Why was IIT-Bhubaneswar ignored despite explicit government instructions?

• The number of similar hydrology and drainage projects vetted by VSSUT.

• The current status of such projects.

The matter will be taken up again on September 18, when the government is expected to provide comprehensive clarifications.