Govt in spot over civic amenity projects in city

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, March 17

The state government seems to be in a fix over two major projects — solid waste project and the water and sewerage project — in the city.

Finance Minister Manpreet Badal has said the agreements of these projects are in favour of private companies, which have tied the hands of the government from initiating any action in this regard. He said they were working to find a way out.

In 2015, Noida-based Triveni Company was allotted the sewerage and water supply project of Rs 288 crore in the city. The project was to be completed by the end of 2016, but till date, the company has been able to complete only 30-40 per cent of the work.

Since the initial stages, the Triveni company and Sewerage Board officials have been putting the blame on each other for the poor progress of the project. The firm said it was ready to complete the work, but the civic body was “not giving” work front.

On the other hand, the Sewerage Board said it had repeatedly asked the company, during its meetings, to speed up the work as residents were suffering due to the delay, but there was no improvement.

In August last year as well, MC officials at a meeting had decided to take the work in their own hands from the Triveni company.

The MC had planned to recruit temporary workers of the Triveni company and retired Sewerage Board workers to carry out the pending work.

Before the Assembly elections, Congress leaders had claimed that after coming to power, they would conduct a probe into the matter and the work would be taken from the firm. Now, the government is facing a problem due to the agreement as it involves legal and financial implications.

Residents of 20 colonies have been up in arms against the solid waste treatment plant. They are of the view that the stench emanating from the plant is unbearable and it poses a health hazard to the residents living in nearby localities.

The JITF company, which was running the solid waste management plant, had given a termination notice to the MC stating that it would stop the operations on January 19, 2019.

It is learnt that the JITF company is planning to seek damages from the MC. Earlier, the JITF had sought damages worth Rs 962 crore from the MC of Jalandhar. Besides, it had slapped damages worth Rs 480 crore on the MC of Moga.

The civic body in the city had adopted a legal route against the JITF and now, the company has been asked to continue its work till further orders. Before the 2017 elections, Congress leaders had talked about the shifting of this plant after coming to power, but two years have passed and the plant has not been shifted because it has financial implications.