Change in ring road plan

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Advertisement

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, December 14

The district administration has made changes in the construction of 80-feet ring road 1. The road is to be laid from Barnala road to Mansa road. As per the new plan, the ring road will be connected to the ITI Chowk.

The decision has been taken to expedite the work to construct the ring road and divwert the traffic going towards Mansa and Dabwali, which otherwise enters the city.

The district administration has also speed up the work to acquire land for the construction of the ring road after the Supreme Court orders.

The administration officials are interacting with the land owners, so that process of the acquisition can be completed at the earliest.

As per the district administration officials, few land owners have agreed to give their land, while talks are being held with others. The work to build the road is expected to begin soon.

The Bathinda Development Authority (BDA) has begun work on the road stretch, which falls under its jurisdiction, from railway line to ITI chowk. The BDA will construct 700 metre stretch of the ring road. It has also dropped its plan to connect the new 100-feet road along the Civil Line area with the Bhagu road. The BDA feels that heavy traffic flow on the ring road curtails the need to connect the road. Also, residents are against giving land for the road.

The ring road will provide relief to the residents from traffic congestion as entry of big vehicles will be banned in the city. Deputy Commissioner cum Chairman of the Improvement Trust Diprava Lakra had held a meeting with the land owners in October to acquire the disputed 45.57 acres for the construction of the ring road phase 1.

During the meeting, residents vented suspicion saying the trust wanted to acquire land in a residential area to build a colony instead of road. They expressed willingness to give land for road construction but not at a low amount as several houses had already been built there. They stated that, if the land was acquired, as many as 60 residents would be rendered homeless. Deputy Commissioner Diprava Lakra assured them that the issue would be resolved at the earliest.

Meanwhile, BDA chief administrator Sanyam Aggarwal has said that the process to acquire land for constructing the ring road had been initiated, adding the ring road would be connected to the ITI Chowk.

It is pertinent to mention here that the notification regarding the construction of the ring road was issued in January 2001 and funds for acquiring the land were released in January 2004. However, residents were not satisfied with the amount of compensation offered and filed a case in the HC, which gave its decision in favour of the trust in 2011. Later, the residents filed an appeal in the SC challenging the order.

During the hearing in June 2017, the SC allowed the construction of the ring road leaving aside 16 acres of disputed land. The Supreme Court handed over the inquiry to Bathinda DC on August 24.

The plan lingers

• The notification for the construction of the ring road was issued in January 2001 and funds for acquiring the land were released in January 2004. 
• Not satisfied with the relief amount, residents filed a case in the High Court, which gave its decision in favour of the trust
• The Supreme Court allows construction leaving aside 16 acres of disputed land in June 2017