State Finance Minister and MlA from Haldwani Indira Hridayesh’s dream project- international standard stadium at Golapar/ Haldwani, continues to remain a distant dream with little execution of the project on the ground.
Conceptualised nearly a decade ago, the said international standard stadium was supposed to see the light of the day soon when none other than the Finance Minister got the said project site at Golapar, surveyed by a private agency which is expert at handling such modern and international standard structure early this year along with indigenous executive agencies.
Then the local MlA and Finance Minister also reiterated her commitment to make it an international stadium with all modern sports facilities. But since then, as the officials concerned informed, even the basic formalities like land clearance have not been completed to start work on this ‘dream’ project.
A total 15 acre of land is required for this proposed international standard stadium. But only 6 acre of land has so far been cleared, said N C Joshi, Assistant Engineer, UP Rajkiya Nirman Nigam (UPRNN), A UP Government’s undertaking, while talking to The Pioneer. The UPRNN has been assigned the task of constructing this project. land clearance is a prerequisite thing to start work on any project.
But we don’t have any information about clearance of the rest of the nine acre of the land from the forest department at the Golapar, added Joshi. Therefore, it is upto the Government as and when it wants to start work on this project with clearance of the land from the forest department, added the officials concerned.
Apart from delay on land clearance, red-tapism has only come as a stumbling block to carry out work on this project. The matter of fact is that earlier the aforesaid project had to be carried out by the Uttarakhand Infrastructural Development Corporation (UIDC). More so, an amount of Rs 50 lakh was also handed over to the UIDC to start work on this project.
But as the officials concerned informed, later after a gap of two years the UPRNN was asked by the State Government to do this project in January 2012. However, out of Rs 50 lakh given to the UIDC, only Rs 34.9 lakh was returned to the UPRNN, said the officials concerned of the UPRNN. The said amount Rs 34.9 lakh still lies pending with us following no further movement on staring work on this project, the officials concerned informed.
Thus it seems the Government’s decision to hand over the said project earlier to the UIDC not only delayed the said project for such a long time, but also caused a loss of about Rs 15 lakh to the public exchequer as out of Rs 50 lakh given to the UIDC only Rs 34.9 lakh was returned to the UPRNN.
The estimated cost of this project is about Rs 225 crore and it will take us at least two years to complete this project, the officials concerned added. The proposed modern international standard stadium will be equipped with all modern sports facilities like indoor badminton stadium, separate ground for cricket, football and other sports, apart from a pavilion.