State urban development minister C.P. Singh on Friday virtually inaugurated or laid the foundation stone of 25 civic development projects, worth Rs 1,502.72 crore, from the mega sports complex in Nawadih here on Friday.
CM Raghubar Das who was expected to do the honours had to cancel his visit in the last minute following a technical snag in his helicopter.
Singh reached the function venue by road around 4pm, three hours behind the scheduled arrival of Das, and finished the job in the presence of MP P.N. Singh and mayor Chandrashekhar Agarwal. He left for Ranchi around 5.30pm.
The 17 projects worth Rs 1,178.76 crore for which foundation stones were laid included widening a 19km road into eight lanes (Rs 416 crore); two schemes each sponsored under AMRUT and District Mineral Foundation Trust; and one funded by World Bank.
Among projects launched were a beautified Bekar Bandh (Rs 7.51 crore) and a water supply scheme (Rs 298 crore) for Sindri and Jamadoba under AMRUT (earlier JNNURM).
The minister, who was accompanied by principal secretary (urban development) Ajoy Kumar Singh, said the projects were meant for everyone, not just the urban rich and middle class.
“We have paid equal attention to civic amenities in slum areas of the town. Every ward was given equal weightage during planning,” he said, adding that while the Mada water tax for Jharia and Katras had been increased, BPL families had been exempted.
On the issue of water crisis being faced by residents of Jharia owing to repeated technical snags at the Jamadoba treatment plant, the minister said they were planning to purchase new motors.
Dhanbad MLA Raj Sinha, Sindri MLA Phulchand Mandal deputy commissioner A. Dodde, SSP Kishore Kaushal, DMC’s chief executive officer Chandramohan Kashyap and over 40 councillors attended Friday’s function.
Plans for industry hub
Minister Singh said the CM would lay the foundation of over 12,000 dwelling units in Jamshedpur on Saturday along with a sewage and drainage project in Adityapur.
“Our aim is to provide better civic amenities to the people across the state,” he added.
