Potable canal water supply for Jalandhar, Patiala, Ludhiana, Amritsar cities soon: Minister Inderbir Singh Nijjar

Tribune News Service

Kapurthala, August 2

Minister for Local Bodies Inderbir Singh Nijjar has said Punjab is all set to provide drinkable canal water to residents of four cities — Jalandhar, Patiala, Ludhiana and Amritsar. This revolutionary step is being taken to save the rapidly depleting ground water.

Addressing mediapersons here today after reviewing the ongoing development works and implementation of welfare schemes, the minister said the Punjab Government has chalked out a comprehensive plan to ensure maximum utilisation of river/canal waters. In the first phase, four big cities would get canal water under a 25 to 30-year-plan. Besides, 85 other cities and towns have also been identified which fall within the 15-km radius of any river or canal so that the potable water could be provided to a major portion of Punjab in an easy manner.

Directing officials to ensure quality control, the minister said contractors who didn’t work as per the specifications must be blacked out for future works to ensure quality in government works.

Reviewing the current status of setting up Government Medical College in Kapurthala, the minister said he would take up the matter with the departments concerned so that the work may be started as soon as possible. The proposed medical college would be set up on 11.50 acres in the city.

Taking a serious note of road quality and water logging, the minister said there should be zero tolerance to poor quality of roads and PWD and Municipal Corporations must work in a transparent manner to ensure quality check in a strict way. He also made it clear that construction of roads by laying bitumen during rain would be dealt as criminal activity and officials responsible would be held accountable for that.

He also announced display boards to be installed to ensure road quality mentioning length, name of contractor, XEN concerned and nodal agency which execute works with mobile numbers so that more transparency may be ensured in working.

Reviewing 16 projects under Smart City Sultanpur Lodhi, the minister has asked officials to complete these projects on a war footing as it would not only facilitate the pilgrims visiting the holy city but also promote it as a favoured religious tourist destination. He also ordered the Municipal Corporations and Municipal Councils to start a special drive to aware the people regarding discontinuing the use of single-use plastic. Besides, helpline numbers and single window system should be set up in MCs to redress the grievances of people in stipulated time frame, he added.

The minister further said that it was decided to delegate the power to ADCs, Urban Development, and MC Commissioners to pass the building maps, except the ones of housing societies and commercial malls or multiplexs, to facilitate people. Earlier, a Punjab Police contingent presented a guard of honour to the Cabinet Minister in the presence of Deputy Commissioner Vishesh Sarangal and SSP Navneet Singh.

Prominent amongst others present on the occasion included ADC G Ajay Arora; Phagwara ADC Dr Nayan Jassal; ADC (D) SP Angra; ADC, UD, Anupam Kler; Kapurthala SDM Hardeep Singh, AAP leader Manju Rana, former minister Joginder Singh Mann, district president Nikita Sikhlani, Ranjit Singh Rana, state secretary Gursharan Singh Kapoor, state joint secretary Gurpal Singh and Parvinder Singh Dhot.

Joginder Mann seeks special package for Phagwara

Phagwara: Former minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Joginder Singh Mann today met Local Governemnt Minister Inderbir Singh Nijjar in Kapurthala and sought a package for Phagwara to develop it as a model city.

He urged the minister to sanction a grant of Rs 51 crore for the maintenance of roads, streetlights and other basic amenities. Similarly, he also sought a storm water drainage system and a comprehensive solid waste management project for the city. Mann asked the minister to sanction funds for the construction of new Municipal Corporation building at an alternative site. He asked the minister to fill vacant key posts in the civic body.

The AAP leader demanded that Phagwara should be included in Smart City or Amrut scheme for its complete facelift. He urged the minister to accord permission for change of land use on prime roads of the city to propel economic activity. He demanded regularisation of the services of sanitation workers, sewer men and all other temporary staff of the Municipal Corporation.

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