Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, June 5

Focusing on eco development at the fag end of the present tenure, the government allocated two projects worth Rs47.74 cr for the city on the occasion of World Environment Day.

The much-touted projects have been in discussion for the past many years but have not been implemented on ground. Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Saturday made a formal announcement for the same through a virtual event which saw the participation of local MP Santokh Singh Chaudhary, Mayor Jagdish Raj Raja, Deputy Commissioner Ghanshyam Thori and Additional Deputy Commissioner Vishesh Sarangal.

Meanwhile, Member of Parliament Santokh Singh Chaudhary inaugurated a 35-crore Wariana dump site remediation project under the Jalandhar Smart City Mission here on Saturday. He was accompanied by Jalandhar West MLA Sushil Rinku, MLA Surinder Chaudhary and Mayor Jagdish Raja.

Dedicating the project to the people of Jalandhar, MP Chaudhary thanked Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh for taking the initiative to clear waste from the site. He said under the remediation project, approximately 8 lakh metric tonnes of legacy waste would be cleared. “The waste has been dumped on the Wariana site for the last 30 years causing damage to the environment. In the next two years, it would entirely be cleared and recycled for use in factories and other places,” he said.

Santokh Singh Chaudhary said due to the implementation of this project, approximately 14 acres of land worth crores of rupees would be reclaimed for further use. MC Joint Commissioner Amit Sareen, Superintending Engineer Rajnish Dogra and councillor Babby Chadha were among those present on the occasion.

The Mayor and DC mentioned that another project to promote green cover in the city was also launched by the Chief Minister. They said under the green area parks development project, about seven parks had been developed at a cost of Rs 8.84 crore. In these parks, open gyms, sound system, gazebo and sports facilities have been ensured while three vertical gardens under flyovers had been developed at a cost of Rs 3.90 crore. They said focus lights and drip irrigation system had been set up in these vertical gardens.

Meanwhile, the Mission Tandarust Punjab was launched by the CM. It was aimed at further improving the overall health of the people of Punjab. Under this flagship programme, a multi-pronged strategy would be adopted to improve health indicators.

Kabaddi player Gurpreet Kaur from Haripur village during the event also shared her views on efforts made by the state government to promote sports culture in villages under the Mission Tandarust Punjab. Prominent among others present on the occasion included Joint Commissioner Municipal Corporation Amit Sareen, Assistant Commissioner Hardeep Singh, and District Development and Panchayat Officer Iqbaljit Singh.