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Reiterating the firm commitment of providing all basic amenities in the urban residential areas, Punjab Housing and Urban Development Minister Aman Arora on Tuesday said that the Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government will go the extra mile to ensure state-of-the-art facilities in authorised colonies in the state. The cabinet minister said that in the line of this commitment, the state government will launch a new scheme and auction of various sites under Patiala Development Authority on this Independence Day.

Reviewing the functioning of the Authority at Patiala, Arora assessed the actual status of the long-awaited project ‘PDA Enclave Dhuri’. The PDA has acquired around 34.64 acres of land at Dhuri for the project and development works are in the process of completion. Principal Secretary, Housing and Urban Development, Ajoy Kumar Sinha and Deputy Commissioner-cum-Chief Administrator, Patiala Development Authority, Sakshi Sawhney apprised the cabinet minister that PDA will auction its various sites on the 75th anniversary of Independence Day.

The previous governments’ lackadaisical approach towards bringing new planned townships in urban areas is the main reason behind mushrooming of illegal colonies and the haphazard development in the urban areas of state, which further hindered the infrastructure development and people have to live without basic amenities, the minister said.

Arora directed the Chief Administrator to start the allotment of residential plots in the PDA Enclave as soon as possible. Subsequently, the auction should be started for the commercial plots at the site. He appreciated the PDA for putting a mechanism in place, for the issuance of NOCs to plots and buildings, situated in unauthorised colonies. He was also apprised that PDA has introduced a single window system besides launching a helpline number 0175-5020555 in this regard for the convenience of the public.

Arora also reviewed Rs 208 crore ‘Rejuvenation of Badi Nadi & Chhoti Nadi’, construction of Heritage Street around Qila Mubarak and other ongoing development projects of Patiala Urban Development Authority.

The minister said that the Punjab government is committed to provide the best possible facilities to the residents of authorised colonies, while assuring the Resident Welfare Associations and colonisers to resolve their problems on priority. He assured that all the issues raised in the meeting related to Omaxe PDA and other PUDA approved colonies will be resolved within three months.

While talking to media persons, Aman Arora said that planned urban development is one of the priorities of the Punjab government. He said that it is shocking that instead of prioritising urban development, nefarious leaders in the previous governments became developers and over 14,000 unauthorised colonies mushroomed in the state. This issue will also be resolved within the next few days, the cabinet minister added.

Replying to another media query, Arora said that in order to get feedback from people and further reforms in the department functioning, he has started the tour of Punjab from Patiala. Very soon, the people will witness tremendous improvement in the condition of the cities of the state, he assured.

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Arora also said that there is a lot of potential in the field of renewable energy in Punjab and fulfilling the Union government’s commitment to the UN, the state will soon become number one in renewable energy.

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