Gurdaspur, June 5
It’s a double whammy for residents of this border district. The much-hyped District Administration Complex (DAC) and the multi-storied under construction judicial complex have hit a roadblock with the former being dwarfed by compulsions of ruling party politicians, while the latter’s much-awaited inauguration getting repeatedly delayed following a ban on mining.
The five-storied judicial complex, which, once completed, will prove to be a boon for residents, litigants and advocates alike, was to be inaugurated on December 31 last year. However, this deadline was extended to May 31 and now it has been further stretched to October. The ban on mining in Punjab meant that the contractor was hard pressed as far as getting construction material on time following which the prestigious state of the art building got repeatedly delayed.
The construction of both the public utility buildings has assumed significance, as once completed, residents can get their judicial and administrative work done under one roof instead of running from pillar to post as is the case now.
The lawyers and district administration had charted plans to construct a new building because the old one was having Byzantine lanes and was badly cramped for space. A high-level delegation of the Building Committee of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, comprising of Justice TPS Mann, Justice MM Singh Bedi and Justice Ajay Tiwari visited the town a year ago and after inspecting a couple of sites, they finally settled down to the one where the old judicial chambers were built.
If mining woes hit the construction of the judicial complex, the DAC has its own set of problems. The first foundation stone was laid by then Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in 2001, followed by Capt Amarinder Singh initiating such an exercise in 2006 during his term as the Chief Minister. Both these initiatives turned out to be an exercise in futility before Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal again laid the foundation stone in December last year. However, six months down the line, not even a single brick has been laid, with the administration officials coming up with an assortment of excuses and reasons, some genuine and the others not so genuine, of not starting the construction process on time. Interestingly, while two foundation stones were laid at the same site, the one laid by Sukhbir Singh Badal was near the under-construction judicial complex adjoining the old Deputy Commissioner’s DC office.
The DAC, indubitably, has become controversy’s favourite child. And till it is constructed, residents will continue to have a torrid time.
