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AAP govt eyes prime land in Bathinda to generate resources
The prime land spreading over 35-acres in the Civil Station area in Bathinda is proposed to have high-rise commercial and residential zones; AAP govt is pushing previous Congress regime’s plan
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The cash-starved Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab has expressed interest in pushing the previous Congress regime’s plan to dispose of public properties, including residential accommodations meant for senior officials in Bathinda district, to mobilise funds.
But the latest move comes with a change where the prime land spreading over 35-acres in the Civil Station area is proposed to have high-rise commercial and residential zones.
Previous Congress government led by Captain Amarinder Singh had first mooted a proposal in January 2020, to use the area around the Bathinda secretariat to develop a commercial city centre. But the then government did not push the project.
Official sources, associated with the project, said the district administration has been instructed by the state authorities to keep the project on priority and officials of the Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA), the executing agency, are working to expedite the groundwork.
Bathinda deputy commissioner Showkat Ahmad Parry said that now it has been planned to use the available public land for residential and commercial purposes and a detailed report would be sent to the state authorities next week.
“As most government buildings around the secretariat would be razed, it has been decided that all government officials at the district level will be shifted to the Thermal Colony of the now-defunct Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Power Plant (GNDTP), Bathinda. Since residences in the colony are old and in dilapidated conditions, these would be renovated. Once approved by the cabinet, work to vacate the Civil Station and shift to the thermal colony would be completed in a year,” he said.
Official sources said over 40 government buildings, including the residences of the DC, SSP, women police station and other residential quarters, would be vacated for the development project.
District administrative complex, PWD rest house and a school at the Police Lines are the key landmarks that will not be dismantled.
PUDA has estimated to pay ₹ 93 crore to the public works department (PWD) for the renovation of over 900 residences at Thermal Colony and the construction of two new camp offices for the DC and SSP.
“Area around the Civil Station is a lucrative asset to generate enough funds. PUDA has planned to rope in a consortium of urban city planners to tap the area for high-rise commercial and residential projects for competitive prices,” said another official familiar with the project.
Official sources said an internal exercise is underway to find scope beyond the proposed ‘bulk pharmaceutical park’ at the 1,300-acres land of the now-defunct Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Power Plant (GNDTP) site in Bathinda.
A senior government functionary said as there has been no progress in the drug park, possibilities are being explored for an alternative industrial project.
DC Parry said the large chunk of the land is proposed to be used only for industrial purposes and assessment is being done for another viable project.
