The Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs (Independent Charge) Mr. Hardeep Singh Puri today called on the Chief Minister, Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh and discussed the issues pertaining to the developmental sphere during a luncheon meeting with the Chief Minister. On the occasion, the Union Minister also presented his book 'Perilous Interventions: The Security Council and the Politics of Chaos' to the Chief Minister and Local Government Minister. On the occasion, the Chief Minister also gifted a set of 6 books authored by him to the Union Minister.Earlier, the Union Minister reviewed the flagship schemes of the Union Government such as Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), Smart City Mission, Swachh Bharat Mission, Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojna (PMAY), Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) & Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Antyodaya Yojana National Urban Livelihood Mission (DAY-NULM) in the States of Punjab, Haryana and UT Chandigarh.Briefing the Union Minister about the progress made by the Punjab Government with regard to these schemes, the Local Government Minister Mr. Navjot Singh Sidhu brought to light that 61 cities in the State have been made Open Defecation Free (ODF) and assured that Punjab would be free from the menace of ODF in its entirety by 30th June, 2018.
The Local Government minister further elaborated that in the coming 6 months span the processing of garbage would witness an increase from 15 to 40 percent. Regarding the ICCC project, the minister divulged that the 1st phase under the project has been completed with regard to development of Ludhiana as smart city.Mr. Sidhu also revealed that the Union Minister has accepted his invitation of inaugurating the HRIDAY scheme in holy city Amritsar during February itself. The Local Government Minister also said that he also invited the Chief Minister for the inauguration function who has kindly consented.Disclosing more, Mr. Sidhu said that by the 31st of March, 2018projects worth Rs. 700 crore would be tendered out in totality under smart city scheme. He also added that projects to the tune of Rs. 46.5 crore have been awarded with another worth Rs. 24 crore under finalization. He also said that Rs. 209 crore worth projects are in the tendering process. Regarding AMRUT scheme, the minister said that Rs. 300 crore worth projects are being executed in the AMRUT cities. He also detailed that Individual Household Laterines (IHHL) have been built in the state to the extent of 70 percent.
Divulging more, Mr. Sidhu said that 70 percent progress has been made concerning the HRIDAY scheme. He also brought to light that Common Effluent Treatment Plant (CETPs) would also be included in the smart city projects. He added that another review of the schemes would be done after 3 months span.The Union Minister on the occasion appreciated the path breaking measures undertaken by the Punjab Government regarding implementation of the schemes and assured full assistance from the Union Government in this regard. He also said that earlier he was pessimistic about the implementation of the flagship schemes but after interacting with Mr. Sidhu and listening to his grandiose vision with regard to these schemes, he has turned into an optimist about the effective execution of these schemes.Among others present on the occasion included Chief Secretary Mr. Karan Avtar Singh, Additional Chief Secretary Mrs. Vinni Mahajan, Principal Secretary Local Government Department Punjab Mr. A. Venu Prasad, Director Local Government Department Punjab Mr. Karnesh Sharma, CEO Punjab Municipal Infrastructure Development Company (PMIDC) Mr. Ajoy Sharma, Director Town Planning Mr. KK Yadav, Commissioner MC Ludhiana Mr. Jaskiran Singh, CA, PUDA Mr. Ravi Bhagat, Incharge Smart City Project Amritsar Mrs. Deepti Uppal and Commissioner MC Amritsar Mrs. Sonali Giri.