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Journalism of Courage
Construction work to resume at an escalated cost of around Rs 32 crore, deadline not fixed yet
The Finance and Contract Committee F038;CC of the Ludhiana Municipal Corporation has finally decided to give approval to a design of the ceiling for the indoor stadium coming up in the city. It took the MC more than two years to finalise the design. Due to the delay, the construction cost of the stadium that was Rs 16 crore in 2006 has shot up to almost double.
Though Senior Deputy Mayor Parveen Bansal said the cost of the project would come to around Rs 25 crore, sources said if the stadium were to be made air-conditioned the expenditure would not be less than Rs 32 crore.
The construction of the stadium had started in January 2003. With an 18-month deadline, it was supposed to be completed by June 2004. The MC8217;s failure to provide the designs to the contractor in time delayed the project and jacked up the cost.
Deepak Singhal, the contractor who has been awarded the work, told Newsline, 8220;I have heard that work on the project will resume soon. From the day I get the drawings, it will take another year to complete the project.8221;
Set to generate revenue from the venture, the MC has planned to build around 70 showrooms within the stadium, which will be auctioned once the project is ready.
The sources said while the work was lying incomplete, a payment of Rs 16 crore, according to the earlier estimate, had already been made to the contractor.
Taking a strict note of the pending project, the vigilance cell of the local bodies department had asked for a status report of the indoor stadium. According to the sources, however, the MC had sent a wrong report, saying more than 70 per cent work was complete, while the actual work done on ground was not more than 50 per cent.
Following this, eight employees were suspended, it is learnt.
The project has got a green signal once again, but with the MC neither fixing any deadline for the completion of the work and nor working out a new estimate, it is not clear yet as to when the stadium will see the light of day.
