5 yrs on, Amritsar Smart City projects in limbo

Charanjit Singh Teja

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, December 16

Even after more than five years of the launching of the ‘Smart City Mission’ by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, no significant project has seen the light of day in the city so far.

The Centre had chosen the holy city under the Smart City project on September 20, 2016. Major announcements related to multi-core projects were made during all these years.

The projects, which have been completed, include installation of streetlights and renovation of some parks.

Most of the development works were announced in 2016-17, but started with a delay. Revamping of Outer Ring Road was initiated last year, but only a small stretch has been completed. As a result, commuters face harrowing time commuting on this one-km stretch from Lohgarh Gate to Khajana Gate.

The Amritsar Smart City Limited (ASCL) had announced to construct multi-storey parking lots at Kairon Market and Macchi Mandi in 2018, however, the tenders have not materialised so far. The ASCL had proposed to strengthen the road and sewerage network, but the entire process has got stuck at the tendering phase. Redevelopment of Circular Road as a Smart Road began with a delay.

The Rejuvenation of Auto-Rickshaw in Amritsar through Holistic Intervention project (RAAHI), for which a cash subsidy of Rs 75,000 has been given for replacing the old diesel autorickshaws with e-autos to improve the public transport, has been on the track. The beautification and rejuvenation of Tung Dhab seems a distant dream.

Sandeep Rishi, CEO, Smart City-cum-Commissioner MC, said, “The projects began with a delay. The utility shifting of Circular Road delayed the project. I will get the progress report and will try to complete the project till the target date. Several projects are on the tendering stage.”