Rs 1,242-cr canal water project for Ludhiana

Nitin Jain

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, March 8

The maximum city of Punjab has bagged a big deal in the Budget. Ludhiana has got the much-needed canal water supply project to quench the thirst of its residents.

The Rs 1,242-crore canal-based water supply project for the industrial hub of the state was approved in the Punjab Budget for 2021-22 presented to the Vidhan Sabha by Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal in Chandigarh on Monday.

Not only this, the agriculture, animal husbandry, education, health, industry, infrastructure development, investment promotion, sports and youth services sectors in Ludhiana, known as the Manchester of India, have also got a big boost in the Budget estimates for the next fiscal.

A canal-based water supply project, costing Rs 1,242-crore, excluding operation and maintenance for 10 years, will be undertaken by the state government, with the help of the World Bank. Under this ambitious project, surface-based potable water will be made available to the industrial hub of the state, which was currently groping with the problem of rapidly depleting groundwater level.

“The negotiation of the project with the World Bank has been completed and the project is proposed for approval in the ensuing executive committee meeting of the World Bank scheduled for March 31,” stated the Finance Minister, adding that the construction of the project would start in 2021-22.

Ludhiana was among the two cities that got the canal-based water supply project in the state. Amritsar has also got a similar project, costing Rs 686 crore.

MORE BEDS IN HOSPITALS

Rs 55 crore was provisioned to provide additional beds at the existing MCH wings at district hospitals of Ludhiana, Faridkot, Hoshiarpur, Bathinda and Barnala with a target of completing at least 50 per cent by March, 2022.

ANIMAL HUSBANDRY

Punjab has become the first state in the country for the production of cell culture classical swine fever vaccine at Punjab Veterinary Vaccine Institute (PVVI) in Ludhiana after signing a material transfer agreement with the IVRI, lzatnagar, in Bareilly. Further, to protect livestock against contagious diseases, Ludhiana, PVVI, will be upgraded to good manufacturing practices (GMPs) as per the WHO norms at a cost of Rs 32 crore and an amount of Rs 20.22 crore has already been released for its upgradation during 2020-21.

Rs 933 CR FOR EDUCATION

The government has released grants to the tune of Rs 933 crore to different universities and colleges in the state, including Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana, during 2020-21. A budgetary allocation of Rs 1,064 crore has been made for this purpose in 2021-22.

INDUSTRIAL TRAINING

A sum of Rs 8.27 crore was allocated for upgrading Government ITI in Ludhiana as Model ITI.

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

Ludhiana will get one of the seven hostels for working women proposed to come up next fiscal for providing safe accommodation to working women. A sum of Rs 50 crore has been allocated for this purpose.

INDUSTRIAL & BIZ DEV

Under the Industrial and Business Development Policy-2017 aimed at creating an investor-friendly regulatory environment for the ease of doing business, Ludhiana has got one of the major investment proposals worth Rs 2,119-crore from Think Gas Ludhiana Private Limited.

INVESTMENT PROMOTION

To further facilitate the investor at the doorstep, facilitation offices for investors at district level – District Bureau of Industry and Investment Promotion (DBIIP) offices will come up in each district. Ludhiana will be among six districts to be covered in the first phase. These dedicated DBIIP offices will be headed by the Deputy Commissioners as the CEOs, while nodal officers from line departments will be appointed to receive, process and grant statutory clearances/approvals/NOCs as required by an industrial unit through the existing Invest Punjab Business First portal. DBIIP will facilitate new/ expansion unit investments and expedite speedy approval/ clearances required for grounding of the projects.

HI-TECH CYCLE VALLEY

A sum of Rs 22 crore was allocated for the creation of capital assets at the world-class state-of-the-art hi-tech cycle valley coming up over 383 acres at Dhanansu in Ludhiana with an outlay of Rs 500 crore.

SPORTS & YOUTH SERVICES

Ludhiana was among seven districts where 56 sports infrastructure development were under progress and Rs 29 crore has been provisioned in 2021-22 for the completion of the existing projects, including block level multipurpose sports stadiums, besides the construction of new sports infrastructure.

SMART CITIES MISSION

Ludhiana was among the four cities selected under the Centre’s Smart Cities Mission, to be developed as smart cities. The focus of the mission is to improve infrastructure, IT connectivity, e-governance, resident participation, redress of environmental pollution, clean water and sanitation issues while ensuring the safety of the residents. In 2020-21, works amounting to Rs 1,237 crore have been started while a budgetary provision of Rs 1,600 crore has been made for this project during 2021-22.

AMRUT SCHEME

Under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme, the rejuvenation of Buddha Nullah in Ludhiana was approved at a cost of Rs 650 crore.

INFRA DEVELOPMENT

Ludhiana was among three cities, Mohali and Amritsar other two, which have got commercial complexes-cum-exhibition centres at a cost of Rs 125 crore, Rs 150 crore and Rs 250 crore, respectively.

CRF SCHEME

Under the Central Road Fund (CRF) scheme, a provision of Rs 250 crore has been earmarked for various works, benefiting 308-km of roads. A sum of Rs 100 crore has been allocated for land acquisition and the construction of ROBs/RUBs for a dedicated freight corridor rail line from Rajpura to Ludhiana.

CITY TO GET 5 FISH FARMS

In order to increase the availability of quality fish seed in the state, five fish seed farms are being established in Ludhiana, Hoshiarpur, Nawanshahr, Sangrur, Ferozepur and Fazilka. A high fish production technology of recirculatory aquaculture system has been introduced during 2019-20, which will expand to eight units in the state during 2021-22.

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