Rs 80 crore for Unity Mall, but will the project see the light of day?

The state budget has made a provision of Rs 80 crore for the construction of Unity Mall in Amritsar.

To be built with the financial support of the Centre, the project is likely to put an end to the convention centre which was proposed inside the area of Old Jail about 15 years ago. The Unity Mall will have stalls representing all states and UTs, where artisans from across the country will showcase their products.

Proposed about a decade and half ago, the project has seen several changes in its nomenclature but actual work on the ground never kicked off. The state government, endorsing the demand of the traders, had officially announced its establishment in 2010. Citing the example of cities like Frankfurt and Dubai that thrive only on the basis of being major centres for trade exhibitions, similar plans were mooted for the city of Golden Temple.

The then SAD-BJP government had made a budgetary announcement to establish a world-class trade centre in Amritsar in 2013. As per the plan, an integrated trade centre-cum-commercial-cum-recreational complex at the Central Jail venue, spread over an area of 109 acres, was unveiled. Its building was pulled down and the jail was shifted to Fatahpur village on the city’s outskirts.

Construction work on the Old Central Jail is yet to begin, though debris and rubble have been removed.

Stakes of various trades were interlinked with these projects. Said Kulwant Singh Ankhi, retired principal, “Unity Mall is an initiative of the Central Government, but the AAP government is taking credit for it.”

An RTI application filed in 2023 revealed that no site was earmarked for the Trade and Exhibition Centre inside Sri Guru Ramdas Urban Estate. Instead a state-of-the-art building would be raised to set up a convention centre. Again, the name was changed.

Now, the state government in unison with the Union Government proposed to set up a Unity Mall on 10 acres of land, which was earlier earmarked for a multipurpose sports stadium in the Ranjit Avenue area.

The Punjab Public Works Department (PWD) had already floated a tender for the construction of the mall, with an estimated cost of Rs 153.2 crore and a completion period of 24 months. The mall aims to promote Punjab’s handicraft products in a modern environment, catering to tourists visiting Amritsar daily. The project will also feature the “One District, One Product” initiative, allowing artisans from across the state to showcase their goods.