Mayor receives award on behalf of state

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, June 24

As the state government didn’t send a representative from Punjab for the AMRUT and Smart City workshop, it was left to the city Mayor to receive the award on behalf of the state when Punjab was declared to be on the ninth position among the states working on the AMRUT project.

The workshop was held regarding the Smart City Project and the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) project. Mayors of Jalandhar and Ludhiana who had gone to attend the workshop on an independent basis were the only representatives from the state to accept the incentive announced for Punjab under the AMRUT project.

Jalandhar Mayor Sunil Jyoti accompanied by Ludhiana Mayor Harcharan Singh Golbariya accepted the incentive from Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu. Notably, the Punjab state has bagged Rs 17.67 crore incentive for works done under the AMRUT project in 2016-17.

Mayor Sunil Jyoti said a state-level high powered committee would decide where the money received in incentives would be spent. He said the amount could only be spent on the AMRUT project or projects related to it. This amount cannot be used as the state’s share in AMRUT projects either.

The Mayor said many development works had already been undertaken under the AMRUT project and more would be completed soon regarding which plans were already under progress.

He said of the total incentive amount, a part shall also be bagged by the Jalandhar MC. A demand of Rs 3 or 4 crore shall be made from the state government which shall be utilised for the expansion of green cover, he added. Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu also released a letter to the state government regarding the incentive of Rs 17.67 crore on the occasion.