CM asks Tata Sons to submit DPR for Patiala river rejuvenation plan

CHANDIGARH: Tata Sons is looking to expand its Taj Group of Hotels portfolio in Punjab in a big way, its chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran told chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh at a meeting here on Tuesday.

The company has identified 10-15 projects for expanding its business in the state. The CM, during the meeting, asked the company to come out with a detailed project report (DPR) for its proposed project on rejuvenation of Chhoti Nadi and Badi Nadi water bodies in Patiala. He handed over to the company chairman a formal letter of mandate for the same. The preliminary cost of the project is estimated at ₹550 crore, with a maintenance period of 10 years.

The company chairman agreed to explore Amarinder’s suggestion of setting up an auto plant in the state, and also evinced interest in expanding into food processing, retail and the IT sector, which Amarinder said offered immense potential for growth in view of the various incentives given by his government and the ease of business promoted by the new industrial policy.

The possibility of starting Airasia operations from Amritsar was also discussed, with Chandrasekaran promising to look at connecting Amritsar through domestic flights of the company’s aviation wing. The company had earlier shown keen interest in dealing with the pollution and destruction of its water bodies, and had made a representation for the “Rejuvenation of the Chhoti Nadi and Badi Nadi in Patiala” to the Patiala Urban Planning and Development Authority (PDA).

The representation was taken to the Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) for further evaluation and after preliminary examination, a decision was taken to issue the mandate to the company for bringing a detailed project report at their expense for further scrutiny and international bidding as per the Swiss Challenge method. The project envisages the rejuvenation of the Chotti Nadi, Badi Nadi and other water bodies of Patiala. It seeks to intercept all raw sewage or effluent entering the river, divert it to treatment plants and release treated effluents.