Expressing anger over the dilly dallying attitude of the Centre to clean Puri, the Supreme Court on October 17, 2001 directed the Centre to release Rs 3 crore for the setting up of a model sewerage project in the holy city within 12 days.

Earlier, the Centre had promised to give 75 per cent of the cost of the project approved by the National Environment Engineering Research Institute (NEERI). But the project suffered from bureaucratic red tapism, as the court contended.