Ludhiana improvement trust awaits local bodies department’s nod to finalise contractor
Representative ImageLUDHIANA: The Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) officials are awaiting the local bodies department’s nod to finalise the contractor for construction of Atal Apartments in Shaheed Karnail Singh Nagar. The officials are keeping their fingers crossed as the contractor’s offer is at least 14.5% (Rs 30 crore) less than the fixed price.
In such a situation, ensuring the quality of flats and the project will be a daunting task for the officials.
The Atal Apartments project has remained in news for frequent cancellations and now the LIT officials are worried about its success. Around 40 beneficiaries have not made any payment to the LIT officials stating that they will only make payment once the construction work begins and are willing to pay penalty. While the meeting to discuss the project allotment was already held, the ball is now in the local bodies officials’ court.
Superintending engineer of LIT, Satbhushan Sachdeva, said, “The government is to take the final decision and we have to issue the work order. We are hopeful that the process will get completed within this month. As far as quality work is concerned, we will ensure that there’s no issue with material and safety standards.”
The total cost of the project is around Rs 224 crore and the LIT will take at least three years to give the possession of flats to the public. The tenders were floated for construction of 336 HIG and 240 MIG flats, community centre and tower parking on 8.8 acres land in Shaheed Karnail Singh Nagar on Pakhowal Road. The officials had received response for HIG flats to be constructed at Rs 125 crore and MIG flats to be constructed at Rs 70 crore. They are yet to receive a response for rest of the facilities.
The project will have 12-storeyed residential earthquake resistance towers and these apartments would have facilities of swimming pool, gymnasium, green parks, clubhouse, CCTVs, 24-hour water supply, table-tennis rooms, multipurpose hall, double lifts with round-the-clock power backup, video-door phones in each flat, big balconies, fire hydrant system, rainwater harvesting system, small commercial centre, and separate five-storey parking facility.
