Unfinished business in Sonepat

With the SAI and the Haryana Public Works Department agreeing to disagree on almost all issues, the project — complete with a 25m x 50m pool, practice pool, filtration plant, changing room, toilets, office building, boundary wall and floodlights — that started in 2005, still awaits finishing touches, reports Saurabh Duggal.

It is one big ‘pool’ of controversy that is delaying the commissioning of a Rs 1.68 crore international-standard swimming facility at the SAI’s Northern Region Centre here. With the SAI and the Haryana Public Works Department (PWD) agreeing to disagree on almost all issues, the project — complete with a 25m x 50m pool, practice pool, filtration plant, changing room, toilets, office building, boundary wall and floodlights — that started in 2005, still awaits finishing touches.

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Sources say, the project should have been completed a year ago, but the PWD was unnecessarily delaying it. Even the SAI is doing nothing to expidite the matter.

“The SAI had deposited the complete amount for the project with the PWD. This was the first project to start at the Joshi Chauhan campus and we do not know for why it has not been handed over as yet,” said a source.

“The PWD wants to hand over the project, but why should we take charge of an incomplete project? Essential works like building platforms and stairs are still not done,” said a senior SAI official.

When asked, why the SAI was not pushing the PWD to complete the work quickly, a senior SAI official replied, “Last week we had called the PWD officials for a meeting. Let’s hope we get the pool by the beginning of this summer.”