New Circuit House project misses yet another deadline

THE ₹23-CRORE PROJECT WAS TO BE COMPLETED IN OCTOBER THIS YEAR

Construction of a new Circuit House in the holy city has missed yet another deadline. The project worth ₹23 crore was supposed to be completed by October 2018.

In a meeting held in May this year, deputy commissioner (DC) Kamaldeep Singh Sangha had announced that the project will be concluded in October 2018, however, now it seems a distant dream. The project, that was started by the state government in 2015, has been stalled after the authorities decided to take it further on public-private mode.

“The construction work has been stalled from last six months because the government has decided to give it on public-private mode (PPM). In May, the project was shifted to PPM mode and the process for tenders was started, said the executive engineer,” PWD’s executive engineer Inderjeet Singh said.

“So far 60% of the construction has been completed and we hope to get a private firm soon. As soon as the tenders will float, the work will be resumed. The project needs couple of more months for its completion,” he added.

The building for the new Circuit House, with a total area of 75,000 sq feet, has been raised at the same place where the old circuit house exists.

However, a portion of the old building has been preserved as a part of old heritage. It has been designed to provide modern facilities complementing a religious flavour.

There are 60 AC rooms, a conference hall with sitting capacity of 100 people, meeting halls and dining rooms in the new building.

For official meetings and VVIP visits, two separates suits have also been designed, besides 100 CCTV cameras, fire fighting system and solar panels are also to be installed in the building.

The old building of the circuit house was constructed during the British era and could accommodate very few people. Besides, the building was not in good condition as well.

Therefore, it was decided to construct new building with larger capacity. However, now when the construction of the new building has been delayed, the administration is facing big problem to facilitate the guests.