Manpreet’s proposals get instant House nod

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, February 8

With changing political equation in the Municipal Corporation of Bathinda (MCB) after at least six SAD councillors joined the Congress within a month, Finance Minister Manpreet Badal’s proposals were given the nod within 30 minutes without proper discussion in the General House meeting held on Friday at the MCB meeting hall. 

Earlier, when the Congress was short of a majority in the House then FM Manpreet Badal’s proposals were deliberately opposed in the General House meeting by the SAD-BJP majority and Manpreet had to divert the funds to the Bathinda Improvement Trust (BIT) to get the development works done in the city. The major proposals which were today given approval were tower-type car parking on Mall Road and preparing detailed project report of constructing commercial complex on the fire brigade land in the city. 

In the meeting, the MCB proposed that the O&M branch had prepared a comprehensive mobility plan, in which they had stated need to build a parking lot on Mall Road. It was also stated that the Principal Secretary, Local Bodies Department, had given an affidavit in the Punjab & Haryana High Court in a case (number 17530 of 2010) stating that to resolve the parking problem, parking had been constructed on Mall Road. 

The MCB had got detailed demand assessment done from a Darshaw company in this regard and they had assessed that in 2023 there would be requirement of space for parking of 352 cars on Mall Road. But there is no such huge land available in this area for parking, so it has been decided to install tower type car parking and Rs 5.50 lakh per car expenditure is expected. The project cost will be Rs 19.25 crore.

Municipal Corporation of Bathinda (MCB) Commissioner Dr Rishipal Singh said in the House that FM Manpreet Badal had assured to give Rs 10 crore for this project. He further said this parking would be run by the MCB on its own as it has bad experience working with big corporate, so the Municipal Corporation of Bathinda did not want do the same in this project.

Another important project which has been given the nod was the making of detailed project report regarding multi-storey commercial complex at the fire brigade land. An expert committee has been constituted for this project which includes Municipal Corporation of Bathinda Commissioner, SE MCB, SE BDA, SE PWSSB, Executive Engineer PWSSB, head of the department Architecture Giani Zail Singh College Bathinda, Representative of Architect Association of Bathinda and six councilors, which will take the final decision of hiring a consultant and other related decisions. 

Besides, even a project of laying underground power wires in the city at a cost of Rs 23.62 crore has been approved. The areas where this work would be done are 100 feet road from ICICI Bank to Bhagu road and Power house road as well, Hanuman chowk to railway station, fire brigade to Quila Mubarak and Namdev Road and Bhatti Road. Commissioner Dr Rishipal Singh, Mayor Balwant Rai Nath, Senior Deputy Mayor Tarsem Goyal, Deputy Mayor Gurinderpal Kaur Mangat, councillors and Municipal Corporation of Bathinda officials were present.