File Photo: Deputy Chief Minister of Punjab Sukhbir Singh Badal
Demanding more funds from the Centre under the Smart City project, Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today sought Rs 2,500 crore for the city even as he announced the construction of an elevated road here at the cost of Rs 1,100 crore.
"The Centre should allot at least Rs 2,500 crore for Ludhiana because an amount of Rs 500 crore was not sufficient for overall development of the city," he said in Ludhiana adding, he state was willing to invest Rs 500 crore for the city alone. In Punjab, Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Amritsar will be developed as smart cities.
Mr Badal said an elevated road would be constructed in the city, starting from Samrala Chowk to Octroi Post on Ferozepur Road at a cost of Rs 1,100 crore, with an aim to ease traffic congestion.
Under the Safe City project, high resolution CCTV cameras would be installed in 160 different places here which would help in checking crime. The first phase of this project would be completed by November this year, Mr Badal said.
About the Sahnewal airport, the Deputy chief minister said it could not function properly due to some "technical problems".
Mr Badal said he has taken up the matter with the Civil Aviation Ministry and has requested it to construct civil terminals at the Halwara Air Force Station which could be used as a domestic airport.
He assured the city residents that by January 2016 all roads in Ludhiana would be free from potholes as the state was coming up with a comprehensive project.
Also, for better and effective cleaning of roads, Italian-made automatic cleaning machines would be deputed in all cities of the state in next two months, he said.
All national highways and state highways of Punjab would be upgraded by spending Rs 5,000 crore, he said.
NHAI has finalised the DPR for six-laning with alignment starting from Sector-39 junction Chandigarh following NH-21 and NH-95 upto Samrala Chowk in Ludhiana under Build-operate- transfer model, the Deputy Chief Minister said.
Meanwhile, taking a dig at Aam Aadmi Party, the Deputy CM said AAP is a political party whose "dictator" was Arvind Kejriwal.
Now everyone know that there was "nothing called democracy in AAP", besides the fact that the party had failed to fulfil all its promises, Mr Badal said.
The Lokpal was yet to take final shape in Delhi, even as taxes had been increased, he further said.