CHANDIGARH: Punjab governor and UT administrator V P Singh Badnore has given his approval to use 11acres of forest land in Sector 25 to extend the shooting range to bring it to international standards.
Around 16 acres of land is approved in exchange for the forest land in Sector 53 (10 acres) and Maloya (6 acres). However, both the sites are at the border of the city, adjoining Mohali. Moreover, Maloya land has been found to be encroached. Sources said it will be difficult to remove encroachments as religious structures too have come up. Another worrying factor is that the land in Sector 53 does not have enough green cover.
The UT administration has prepared sketches and drawings of the initial phase of work to develop trap and skeet facilities at the range. The UT will now seek the approval of the shooting federation for its construction.
Although Badnore is interested in the project — he had visited Patiala around a month back to inspect the shooting range there — and has been holding meetings, some of the senior bureaucrats are not too keen about it. “Since the forest land is situated in the first phase of the city, its commercial value will be in hundreds of crores of rupees. It is a matter of grave thought whether the expansion of the range is required or not. Moreover, crores of rupees will be spent on it. But since Badnore has ordered the exercise, the process has been initiated,” sources said.