Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal today approved to rename the Local Planning Area (LPA) Mullanpur as ‘New Chandigarh’ and asked the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) to develop it as a world class planned city on modern lines.A decision to this effect was taken by Mr. Badal during the 26th meeting of the Punjab Regional & Town Planning & Development Board under his chairmanship at the Chief Minister Residence on Tuesday evening in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal, who also holds the portfolio of Housing & Urban Development.
The Chief Minister while reviewing the working of the various development authorities of the state said that Mullanpur township which was adjoining to ‘Chandigarh- the city beautiful’ should be developed as model city equipped with the infrastructure and the ultra modern facilities of international standards.
He said that sincere efforts should be made to develop this township on the pattern similar to that of Chandigarh so that it could emerge as a major tourist and investment destination in the country. Mr. Badal asked the officers to ensure that the planning of the city was done meticulously after thorough and diligent study so that the work on this ambitious project was completed in a time bound and effective manner.
The Chief Minister also gave nod to constitute a high level committee under the Chairmanship of Advisor Health & Medical Education Dr. KK Talwar comprising Secretary Health, Secretary Housing & Development and representatives of Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) and Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) to chalk out a comprehensive plan for the development of Medicity in Mullanpur. It may be recalled that the state-of-the-art Cancer institute on the pattern of Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital is already coming up at Medicity over an area of 50 acre.
On the suggestion of Deputy Chief Minister, the Chief Minister also gave nod for constituting a similar committee of education experts for evolving a time bound action plan to develop Educity as the hub of education over an area of 1700 acre. The Deputy Chief Minister also directed the GMADA to amend the master plan of New Chandigarh accordingly to ensure integrated and planned development of this modern township in a holistic manner. He also gave go ahead to enhance the width of sectoral grid roads from 100 to 200 feet in the master plan of the New Chandigarh.
Taking part in the deliberations Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal said that the top players from across the country should be roped in for developing the Medicity and Educity so that the state could emerge as a hub of the Health and Education. Expressing deep concern over the chaotic situation arising out of haphazard growth of cities due to the violations of building norms by the builders, he asked the Local Govt. department to adhere to the prescribed norms and bye laws. He asked all the development authorities to ensure that every building constructed on the 100 and 200 meters wide mix used corridors must have 2.5 and 5 meters of land reserved in its front for the green belt.
The Chief Minister categorically stated that Mohali would be soon emerge as the financial capital of the state. He also gave green signal for the construction of Amphitheatre having seating capacity of 3000 persons in the Nature Park Sector 62 Mohali spread over 50 acre where theatre performance and drama shows would be held besides conducting cultural programs, live stage performances and concerts. Mr. Badal also approved the norms for the petrol pump sites along with 10% area reserved for shopping complexes to be allotted by the state owned oil companies. He also gave go ahead for the allotment of the sites for opening Verka booths in different sectors. He also cleared the proposal for allotting a site for temple (mandir) in Sector 68, Mohali. The Chief Minister also directed the cultural Affairs department to hold laser shows regularly on the life and philosophy of great warrior Baba Banda Singh Bahadur at his memorial at Chappar Chiri to acquaint our youth with our rich legacy and glorious cultural heritage. Towards an investor-friendly approach, the Chief Minister also agreed to the proposal of the GMADA to allow the successful allottees of Ecocity scheme Mullanpur, to deposit the initial amount of 30% within 180 days instead of 90 days. These provisions would also be applicable in the case of allottees of Dashmesh Nagar at Sri Anandpur Sahib.
Mr. Badal also cleared the proposal to set up Mohali Down Town in Sector 62 over an area of 80 acres to offer the world class infrastructure with parking space and modern facilities of entertainment and refreshment. The Chief Minister reiterated that the state government would not acquire even an inch of land in any case for the infrastructure project but would either follow the process of land pooling or PPP mode. The Chief Minister also gave approval to the Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority to develop 11 new identified sites worth Rs.20000 crore through land pooling. He also agreed to the proposal mooted by Deputy Chief Minister to develop Ludhiana down town at one of the prime location of PSEB on Ludhiana – Ferozepur road.
The Chief Minister also approved the proposal of Amritsar Development Authority to set up Nature Park over an area of 20 acre along with Upper Bari Doab Canal (UBDC) from Taranwal bridge to Sultanwind at a cost of Rs.2.04 crore. Besides giving permission to construct the 5 storied new building of Amritsar Development Authority. Mr. Badal also gave green signal to Jalandhar Development Authority for the establishment of housing projects at Hoshiarpur and Nakodar over an area of 210 acre through land pooling scheme. Likewise, he also approved the group housing scheme to be developed over an area of 50-30 acre in Jalandhar through PPP mode.The Chief Minister also cleared the proposal of Bathinda Development Authority for establishing new housing colony over an area of 192.33 acre at Rama Mandi.
Sukhbir Singh Badal also favored the construction of service lanes on the newly constructed 200 meter wide roads so as to avoid any sort of traffic nuisance. He also directed the Chief Administrators of the development authorities of Bathinda, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Patiala and Mohali to regularly convene the executive meetings for taking prompt decisions to ensure timely completion of the development projects. Keeping in view the paucity of land, the Deputy Chief Minister asked the development authorities to go far vertical growth in terms of high rise buildings which was the only viable solution to overcome the shortage on land. He also asked the CAs of all the development authorities to personally monitor the progress of ongoing projects besides checking the trend of illegal colonies that was posing a major challenge to the integrated development of the cities and towns.
Prominent amongst those present on the occasion included Cabinet Minister Mr. Chunni Lal Bhagat, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Mr. NK Sharma, Chief Secretary Mr. Rakesh Singh, Financial Commissioner Revenue (FCR) Mr. NS Kang, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Mr. SK Sandhu, Secretary Housing and Urban Development Mr. A Venuprasad, Secretary Expenditure Mr. Jaspal Singh, Special Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Mr. Gaggandip Singh Brar, Principal Secretary to Deputy Chief Minister Mr. PS Aujla, Director Local Bodies Mr. Priyank Bharti, CA PUDA Mr. Manvesh Singh Sidhu, CA GMADA Mr. AK Sinha, CA Jalandhar Development Authority Mr Supreet Singh Gulati, CA Patiala Development Authority Mr. GK Singh.