Awaiting Nod, Lit Meets Local Bodies Dept On Work Allotment, ET RealEstate
LUDHIANA: The Ludhiana Improvement Trust (LIT) officials held a meeting with chief engineers of the local bodies department on Thursday to take the final call for allotment of work for construction of flats under the Atal Apartments project.
On not getting a response even after a month of having sent the file for approval, the LIT officials went to Chandigarh on Thursday and explained the entire project to the officials. After the meeting, the LIT officials claimed that the department’s response was positive and they were likely to get the approval letter in a day, following which the work order would be issued.
Written approval awaited
They claimed that while the department had given its nod, they will await a written approval so that there is no issue at a later stage.
Notably, the lowest bidder had offered to take up work at Rs 30 crore, which is at least 14.5% less than the fixed price, therefore, the officials were doubtful about getting the approval as it could mean the work would be of low quality.
The superintending engineer of LIT, Satbhushan Sachdeva, said they will get the approval as the project is important for the city as well as LIT.
In a limbo
The Atal Apartments project has remained in news for frequent cancellations and now the LIT officials are worried about its success.
The total cost of the project is around Rs 224 crore and LIT will take at least three years to hand over the possession of flats to public. The tenders were floated for construction of 336 HIG and 240 MIG flats, community center and tower parking in 8.8 acres land in Shaheed Karnail Singh Nagar at Pakhowal Road. The officials received the response for HIG flats to be constructed at Rs 125 crore and MIG flats to be constructed at Rs 70 crore.
The project will have twelve-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, multi-purpose 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 center, and separate five-storey parking facility.
The project has been hanging fire for almost 15 years.
