To further boost the state’s economy and industrial infrastructure, the Punjab Cabinet on Wednesday approved setting up of a Modern Industrial Park and Integrated Manufacturing Cluster over an area of 2000 acres on Government and Panchayati land near Mattewara (Ludhiana) and Rajpura in Patiala district, respectively, at a total cost of Rs. 3200 crore.The two projects would be instrumental in accelerating the pace of industrialisation and creating enormous employment potential to ensure the state’s economic progress, an official spokesperson said, after a meeting of the Cabinet chaired by Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh through video conferencing.To be set up at a cost of Rs 1600 crore each, in an area of 1000 acres each, the projects will cater to the needs of prospective entrepreneurs/industrialists for setting up their ventures expeditiously, in line with the urgent need to develop such industrial/economic hubs in the State. The Panchayati land for the said projects would be purchased by the Housing and Urban Development Department, for development as mixed land use/industrial park/IMC.
According to the spokesperson, the ambitious Mattewara project had been envisioned and pursued by the Industries Department, and land of Government Departments would be taken over by the Housing and Urban Development Department under OUVGL. The project site had been under active consideration of the State Government for past several years, and it was originally conceived and constantly pursued by the Industries department. However, considering the capacity of Housing and Urban Development to raise finance and execute the project of such scale, the same was transferred to it.Giving the break-up of the available land for establishment of Modern Industrial Park/Mix Land Use Development at Mattewara, the spokesperson said that out of 955.6 acres, 207.07 acres belonged to Animal Husbandry department, 285.1 acres of Rehabilitation Department (Potato Seed Farm), 416.1 acres of Gram Panchayat, Sekhowal, 27.1 acres of Gram Panchayat, Salempur (Potato Seed Farm) and 20.3 acres of Gram Panchayat, Sailklan.The Integrated Manufacturing Cluster (IMC) near Rajpura would be developed with the assistance of National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation on 1000 acres of government and panchayat land. Of 1102 acres of Panchayat land, 492 acres belonged to village Sehra, 202 Sehri, 183 Aakri, 177 Pabra and 48 Takhtu Majra.