International cricket stadium announced by the Badal family for Bathinda in 2007 is yet to see light of the day
Jupinderjit Singh
Bathinda, February 28
In the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections, Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal is on a project-opening and stone-laying spree. So much so that she presided over 48 functions in a single day on Wednesday.
But her overdrive has failed to impress her political opponents. They say Harsimrat, daughter-in-law of Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, should first have ensured the completion of the projects she had announced with “pomp and show” earlier.
They claim there are numerous projects that have failed to move beyond stone-laying ceremonies. The say the Badal family, which claims to have championed the cause of kabaddi by organising world championships, failed to construct an international cricket stadium in Bathinda. Its foundation stone was laid way back in 2007 during a function to mark the Chief Minister’s birthday. They say not a single brick has been laid beyond the foundation stone. The Bathinda Development Authority officials claim a mere Rs 12 lakh was sanctioned for the project. Its estimated cost in 2007 was Rs 25 crore. Add to it the loss of farming and research in the 25 acres acquired for the project from the Punjab Agricultural University regional campus here, they say. The project has been approved by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
The Bathinda airport is another example of alleged government apathy. Though completed two years ago, no flights have started from here. Companies developing the Bathinda refinery and the Talwandi Sabo thermal plant were promised that the airport would prove useful for the regular visits of their top employees.
The state government had also assured the investors in the refinery and the thermal project of prevailing upon the Centre to start a daily Shatabdi from Bathinda to Delhi. But again, politics ruled over the needs of the commuters.
Officials associated with the projects claim the government alleged lured them with airport and fast train service promises but no effort seems to have been made on this front.
The Chief Minister, his deputy Sukhbir Badal and Harsimrat have been taking credit for these projects during public meetings, allege Congress leaders.
Sukhbir had also announced last year that a petrochemical and ancillary industry hub would come up near the Bathinda refinery, but not a single unit has come up so far, they say. Punjab’s loss is Haryana’s gain as raw material from the refinery is being transported to Gurgaon and Panipat. The new units could have brought employment for the locals.
The Badals also announced a textile hub and a khaadi self-help project but these only remained promises, say residents. The state’s first family’s announcement of making Bathinda an education hub where regional campuses of major educational institutions, including the IIT, would be set up also remained only on paper.
Harsimrat’s assurances of more colleges for girls and a multipurpose stadium in Mansa have also remained mere announcements. Though she could not be contacted for comment, the MP has been blaming the Centre for the delay in these projects.
Former Rajya Sabha MP Surinder Singla (Congress) claims that all major projects, including the refinery, flyovers and new trains, sanctioned during the Congress regime. Harminder Jassi, another Congress leader, accuses the Akalis of failing to introduce any major job-generating project in Bathinda in recent years.
Akalis and the undeveloped projects of Bathinda
* The foundation stone (in pic) for an international cricket stadium was laid in 2007 during a function to mark the CM’s birthday
* Even the BCCI had approved the project
* A mere Rs 12 lakh sanctioned for the project estimated to cost ~25 crore in 2007
* The Badals announced a textile hub and a khaadi self-help project but these only remained promises
* A petrochemical and ancillary industry hub was to come up near refinery, but none has been set up.
key words : Harsimrat Kaur Badal, incomplete development, foundation stone, Lok Sabha elections-2014, bathinda
link : http://www.tribuneindia.com/2014/20140301/punjab.htm#1
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