Ludhiana: A flagship Smart City project aimed at providing round-the-clock water supply to 5,000 households in the city’s most prominent neighbourhoods has been abandoned, leaving behind open pits, a trail of missed deadlines, and a massive, weed-covered hole in the city’s famous Rose Garden.Despite receiving ₹67.6 crore — about 95% of the total project cost — the private firm contracted for the work has left the project incomplete for over a year. Municipal corporation (MC) authorities appear to have taken no punitive action against the company, even as the latest deadline of June 30, 2025, passed months ago.When questioned about the stalemate, MC superintending engineer Ekjot Singh admitted the firm had failed to finish the job. “We are trying to ensure the firm completes the pending work as soon as possible,” Ekjot Singh said. However, he did not provide a timeline or explain why nearly the entire project fund was released before the work was verified as complete. This in ‘reward’ for votesThe project was designed to reward the residents of Ghumar Mandi, Sarabha Nagar, Maharaj Nagar, Maya Nagar, and Gurdev Nagar. These areas were placed on a priority list for development because they provided the highest volume of votes when Ludhiana was competing to be among the top 20 cities under the National Smart City Mission. While the city waits for a massive World Bank-funded canal-based water project, this smaller ₹71.1 crore initiative was meant to be an immediate solution, using tube-wells and underground storage tanks to provide Ludhiana with 24/7 supply.Couple of Sore PointsThe project’s failure is visible at two of Ludhiana’s most popular landmarks: Leisure Valley at Rose Garden. At Leisure Valley, a civil structure for an underground tank was built but remains unfinished, while at Rose Garden, A massive pit dug for a storage tank has been abandoned, now overrun by wild vegetation and weeds. While water supply lines were laid in some streets, the system cannot function without the completion of these critical storage and pressure-management tanks.The project has been plagued by political optics and administrative inertia since its inception. In March 2019, work orders were handed over officially. The project was inaugurated twice — first in 2018 and again in 2022 following a change in the state govt. The original completion date was July 31, 2021. This was extended multiple times, with the final deadline of June 2025 also being ignored.MSID:: 127990008 413 |
