Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal on Wednesday ordered the preparation of a comprehensive, inclusive and futuristic master plan for Jalandhar and surrounding areas keeping in view the challenges of next 25 years.
Presiding over a meeting to review projects of Jalandhar and Doaba region, Sukhbir advocated an inclusive master plan that would include rehabilitation of sewerage network, water supply network, providing metered connections to every inhabitation, series of sewerage treatment plants and solid waste treatment plants, redesigning and widening of interior and arterial roads of the city, conceptualizing new road engineering to ensure smooth flow of traffic, installation of CCTV cameras all over the cities and most importantly controlling the execution of master plan with a singular nodal agency.
“Plan must include 100 per cent coverage for sewerage and water supply network, rehabilitating the old sewerage network, laying the storm water drains along all the roads, water recharging facilities to meet future demands and providing mandatorily sewerage and water connections to all inhabitant units. Municipal Corporation should also draw up a plan to provide energy efficient lED street lights, construction of sufficient numbers of bus queue shelters and plantation of saplings along the roads, wherever feasible,” he said.
Emphasizing on upgradation of existing road network besides planning new roads to streamline the traffic problem in the city, he asked PWD to put a comprehensive proposal in this regard. Asking the traffic department to put up traffic lights on busy intersections, the Deputy Chief Minister asked them to enforce ‘No Parking’ regulation strictly. He asked the Corporation to float the tenders for bidding out outdoor advertising panels for advertising; and also launch a campaign against illegal hoardings, dotting various roads.Expressing concern over slow execution of Solid Waste collection project in Jalandhar City, Sukhbir asked the Commissioner to replicate lahore model in Jalandhar and engage the services of Turkish company managing lahore services as consultant for the success of this project.
He asked the Commissioner to visit lahore if it was necessary to study the project. Deputy Chief Minister also constituted a sub-committee to put up suggestive plan after taking feedback from various opinion leaders including elected representatives of the area.