Tawi beautification plan awaits Central nod

Vikram Sharma

Advertisement

Tribune News Service

Jammu, September 21

The ambitious Tawi riverfront project to be designed on the pattern of the Sabarmati riverfront in Gujarat is yet to take off. Its plan outlay remains only on paper.

After its formation on March 1, 2015, the PDP-BJP government had declared it a priority project, but there has been no headway. The work started on the artificial lake and barrage, which are the components of the Tawi project, remain incomplete.

After missing many deadlines, Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed had announced the shelving of the artificial lake project on May 15, 2015, saying it was not feasible. This gave a severe dent to the project which is a part of the Jammu Smart City plan.

On September 26, 2017, then Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh had met Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Puri and sought his help for the Jammu Smart City and Tawi riverfront projects.

The government had prepared a detailed project report at an estimated cost of Rs 375.732 crore and submitted it to the Ministry of Water Resources.

While the detailed project report remains with the Ministry of Water Resources, no government reminders have gone to it to release the project.

Pawan Singh Rathore, Jammu Development Authority (JDA) vice-chairman, said: “Unless the detailed project report is cleared by the Union Government, the project cannot not be taken up.”

“After its announcement, we were happy to have a tourist place in Jammu city, but since the project has been hanging fire, we have lost hope,” said Jeevan Malhotra, a shopkeeper at Bikram Chowk.

The Jammu Development Authority (JDA) which signed a memorandum of understanding with the Sabarmati River Front Development Corporation Limited, Ahmedabad, has said it will take up the pilot stretch of 4.5 km on its own. The stretch will cost Rs 140 crore.

“We called for the bids for other works to be executed by the Jammu Development Authority, but got only one qualified bid in earlier two calls which too exceeded above 36 per cent of its financial value. We have invited for the third tender and are hopeful to get it through,” said the JDA vice-chairman.

He said the no-objection certificate from the forest department and the court stay on the barrage construction acted as the impediments.

Project part of Smart City plan

• The Tawi riverfront project is part of the Jammu Smart City Plan 
• The development of 4.5-km stretch of the Tawi is being done to attract tourists
• The Tawi riverfront will have wide walkways with access steps, ramps and ghats 
• A flower garden, coffee shops, shopping malls, food courts, restaurants, pavilion, banquet halls, bookshops and library to be set up on the riverfront 
• Involves embankment on both sides of the Tawi with diaphragm walls, anchor slabs and retaining walls