Chandigarh administration prepares list of works to be completed on priority post lockdown

Implementation of the smart grid project and road recarpeting will be on the administration’s priority list after the curfew ends

After losing the first month of the new financial year 2020-2021 to the curfew, the UT administration is now prioritising works it must focus on once the restrictions imposed for containing the spread of coronavirus are lifted.

The UT engineering department had come under severe criticism for the bad conditions of roads under its jurisdiction. Even though it started the recarpeting work in late February, it had to suspend because of unseasonal rains and later, due to the pandemic. (HT FILE PHOTO)

Implementation of the smart grid project and road recarpeting will be on the administration’s priority list after the curfew ends. Projects that were approved last year, and for which the tendering process had already started, will be given priority post lockdown.

At present, a skeleton staff is attending office, while most are working from home. Many new projects slated to begin this financial year had to be put on hold.

UT finance secretary Ajoy Kumar Sinha said, “Implementation of the smart grid system, city-wide installation of smart meters, and the completion of road recarpeting work will be taken up immediately after restrictions are relaxed or removed.”

The ₹200-crore smart grid project envisages a power supply management that utilises information technology-based methods to reduce transmission and distribution losses. The new grid will also allow consumers to track their power consumption online. The administration has set up a SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) centre in Sector 18. The UT electricity department will also install smart meters in around 30,000 houses in the city.

ROAD RE-CARPETING ALSO PRIORITY

The UT engineering department had come under severe criticism for the bad conditions of roads under its jurisdiction. Even though it started the recarpeting work in late February, it had to suspend because of unseasonal rains and later, due to the pandemic.

“Tendering to allot the recarpeting work was completed, but the allotment was postponed because of the lockdown. Departments are working on tender documents for other projects as well, even as most of the staff work from home. These will be floated after the lockdown ends,” said Sinha.

Stating that the time lost because of the lockdown could be easily made up for in the coming months, Sinha added, “The administration is working on a plan to ensure that all pending projects can be put back on track.”