Cong, SAD-BJP go all out to woo voters

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, December 12

Ahead of the MC poll, Congress and SAD-BJP candidates are trying hard to woo voters.  The Congress claims that despite remaining in power for 10 years, the SAD-BJP combine failed to start big projects while the SAD-BJP are trying hard to convince voters that these projects can be completed by their party only.

The Patiala Municipal Corporation (MC) during the last SAD-BJP rule has failed to start many big projects, including setting up of the solid waste management plant, shifting of dairies from the city to the outskirts of the district and the canal-based water treatment plant. All projects are hanging fire ever since the SAD-BJP General House took over the reigns of the Patiala MC in 2007.

Notwithstanding the fact that the Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) authorities had written one dozen letters to the Patiala civic authorities for setting up of the solid waste management plant, the civic body failed to initiate work.

At present, 240-MT waste per day is being generated in Patiala only and dumped at an open dumping ground on Sanaur Road from the past five decades. From the past four years, the civic authorities had been claiming that the waste management plant would be set up, but nothing concrete has been done.

Former cabinet minister Surjit Singh Rakhra who had once proposed setting up of the solid waste management project in the city, later opposed it tooth and nail as villagers raised the issue and the project fell in his constituency of Samana. As a result, the project is still incomplete.

Another non-starter project is shifting of all dairies from the city to the outskirts of Patiala district. “Every second day, our sewerage system gets choked because of the cow dung being thrown by dairy owners,” rued Ashwani Bansal, a resident of Ragho Majra. There are many other residential areas of Patiala from where the dairies are operating.

The project pertaining to the setting up of the canal-based water treatment plant has also failed to see the light of day. The project was conceived in view of the fact that the underground water level in the district was witnessing constant decline and the civic body had to spend a huge amount of funds for installation of new tubewells.

“Why during the past 10 years when the SAD-BJP was at the helm of affairs, the MC failed to provide any new project for the betterment of Patiala. The situation on ground clearly reflects that being the stronghold of the Congress, the SAD-BJP regime deliberately ignored Patiala as far as developmental issues are concerned,” said Sanjiv Bittu, leader of the Opposition in the last MC House.

Former councillor and SAD leader Sukhminderpal Minta said the civic body had finalised the site at Dhudhar village, some 22 km away from Patiala, where the solid waster management plant would be set up and work on the project would start.

“The project to shift the dairies could not materialise because of the scarcity of requisite funds and high rate offered by the corporation,” he said, while claiming that the civic body had recently submitted the detailed project report on the canal-based water treatment plant to the state government.

However, Congress candidates are claiming that Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, during his visit to Patiala last month, had announced allocation of Rs 38 crore for the completion of a project for conversion of Banur Canal from non-perennial to perennial, including a canal-based drinking water supply scheme at Rs 782 crore, for Patiala.