In order to ensure the holistic development of Patiala heritage city, the Chief Secretary, Vini Mahajan, on Wednesday directed the departments concerned to expedite all the ongoing development projects and complete them in a time-bound manner, while asking the Deputy Commissioner to personally monitor the progress of all the projects.Chairing a meeting with the administrative secretaries and the district administration officials to review the progress of various ongoing development projects in Patiala, the Chief Secretary said 24.6 acres of land has been acquired for construction of water works at Ablowal to provide 24x7 surface-based water supply to quench the thirst of Patiala city residents under the first phase. The project will cost Rs 503 crore, including operation and maintenance for 10 years.The project to rejuvenate badi nadi and chhoti nadi was being executed at a cost of Rs 208.33 crore to further enhance the beauty of the royal city, said the Chief Secretary, while directing the officials concerned to complete the project by October next.The construction work on the heritage street project around Qila Mubarak was being undertaken on a war-footing. The project costing Rs 43.63 crore will entail shifting underground all HT and LT power supply cables besides cobbling of 2-km stretch with red granite stone. Besides, compact substation transformers will be installed to save space, steel plates will upgrade the facade, and signage will be installed for story-telling and way-finding. Moreover, artwork sculptures and artistic streetlights will be installed for beautification of the national importance monument, besides installation of CCTV cameras and construction of a small open air amphitheatre.
The Deputy Commissioner apprised the Chief Secretary that the work on shifting of dairies from the city with modern amenities was going on in full swing. Of the total 132 plots, 115 have already been allotted under the first phase to all the interested dairy owners.The Chief Secretary asked the DC to meet the deadline of September 30 for shifting of dairies to the earmarked dairy project site.The Chief Secretary also asked the Transport department to complete the work on the main building by November. Principal Secretary Transport K Siva Prasad apprised the Chief Secretary that the work on the workshop will be completed by March next while external work has begun on the public health project after being allotted on June 7.A dedicated chief engineer has been deputed for supervising the work on Maharaja Bhupinder Singh Sports University project and administrative approval of works amounting to Rs 53 crore has been accorded.Ms Mahajan instructed the Finance department to release the remaining requisite funds to ensure its timely execution. Additional Chief Secretary Tourism and Cultural Affairs Sanjay Kumar apprised the Chief Secretary that the renovation of Mohindra Kothi and shifting of medal gallery will be completed by September 30.Principal Secretary Local Government Ajoy Kumar Sinha informed the meeting that the work on bioremediation of legacy waste in the city was progressing well and three specialised machines of different sizes have been installed for the purpose. The entire legacy waste site has been provided with a boundary wall of laminated sheets across its periphery. Till date, legacy waste to the tune of 2.5 lakh tonne has been reduced by 55 per cent of its volume.The Chief Secretary asked the department to complete the project by December.The progress of the bus stand mobility plan, various development works in Rajindra Hospital, and rehabilitation of urban slums under the Basera scheme was also reviewed.Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Tejveer Singh, ACS-cum-CMD PSPCL A. Venu Prasad, Principal Secretaries KAP Sinha (Finance), Vikas Pratap (PWD), Alok Shekhar (Industries) and Raj Kamal Chaudhuri (Planning) also attended the meeting.