Amritsar:
The Punjab government on Thursday approved a heritage rejuvenation plan for the city to make it a favourite tourist destination of South-East Asia.
Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal gave his nod to the conceptual plan after a joint presentation by the departments concerned, an official release said.
It was decided that for the coordinated development of Amritsar, Mr Badal himself would be heading the Metropolitan Council of Amritsar that would oversee and monitor the time-bound execution and implementation of all projects.
The Council gave in-principle approval to the upgradation of Attari Tourist Reception Centre coupled with restaurant, food plaza, open air-theatre, multi-level parking to facilitate the tourists.
Mr Badal asked the Tourism Department to finalise a laser show on the lines of Singapore and New York for the visiting tourists.
Expressing concern over the slow execution of Gobindgarh Fort Project, being financed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Mr Badal asked the Tourism Department to complete it by 12 months.
Approving the conservation and upkeep of the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital building, the Deputy Chief Minister said the heritage architecture of this building must be preserved. He also gave a nod to the conceptual plan for Ram Bagh and Heritage Village being constructed in Guru Nanak Dev University campus.
Mr Badal also said the state government would be approaching Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for sanction of a magnetic levitation train between Amritsar and Delhi or extend the Delhi-Chandigarh train already approved to Amritsar.
The budget for the heritage rejuvenation plan is Rs 12,193 crore, the release said.
Revenue Minister Bikram Singh Majithia, Industry and Commerce Minister Anil Joshi, Member of Parliament Navjot Singh Sidhu and local MLAs were present at the meeting for the purpose.