CM halts Patiala dairy shifting project, says first provide facilities
PATIALA: Hanging fire for 17 years, the dairy shifting project in Patiala missed another deadline after chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Friday directed to halt the process till all necessary facilities are made available at the new site.
The chief minister’s orders came after a delegation of dairy owners met him on Thursday night. In a phone call made to the Patiala deputy commissioner Kumar Amit past midnight, Channi said the interest of dairy owners must be taken into consideration.
“No one should be made to forcibly shift their business to the new site. The administration should put all facilities, including proper road network, water supply connections, sewage treatment plant and other requirements, in place before shifting the dairy owners,” said the chief minister (CM).
The Patiala municipal corporation (MC) had set September 30 as the deadline to shift 141 dairy farmers operating within the city to a 21-acre site at Ablowal village on the outskirts.
Presently, the site is without a biogas plant, sewage treatment plant and veterinary hospital, as proposed under the ₹13.5-crore project. The dairy owners also complained that they were offered only 150-square-yard plot, which would be not adequate to run their units.
On Friday, the deputy commissioner met the dairy owners and listened to their grievances and demands. “All facilities will be provided according to the mandate. The dairies will be shifted only after the Patiala MC ensures all required facilities are available at the site,” he said.
Will make CM aware of arrangements: Mayor Meanwhile, Patiala mayor Sanjeev Sharma Bittu said the dairy owners kept a one-sided story before the CM.
“We will send a fresh presentation to the CM, briefing him about arrangements made at the site. The dairy owners are reluctant to shift their businesses and are creating unwarranted hindrances,” he said.
The presence of dairies within the city limits has been leading to frequent choking of sewers and resultant waterlogging in Patiala.
The project to shift them was initiated in 2003, but it gathered pace only after former CM Captain Amarinder Singh provided funds in 2017. In the first phase, of the total 257 dairies, 141 were to be shifted.