Urban Development Dept gets Transport Nagar project in Solan again

Ambika Sharma

Solan,September 19

The Urban Development Department (UDD) has once again been entrusted the much-hyped Transport Nagar project in Solan, following a September 5 Cabinet decision. The project has failed to make any progress as it has been transferred from one department to the another in the last four and a half years after various Cabinet decisions.

This project was supposed to rehabilitate 269 people operating and working in the motor repair shops located at Chambaghat on the Solan-Shimla highway. They were displaced following the four-laning of the highway in 2018.

Dheeraj Sood, who heads the Maa Durga Motor Market Association, said they had been “scattered” at various place in the precincts of Solan like Ghatti, Deonghat, Shamti, Basal, etc in the absence of a suitable place. This is posing problems for motorists who have to visit various places to get their vehicles repaired.

“I had to shift three times in the last four years as no appropriate place has been found. Each time I set up a shop, it had to be dismantled after a few months owing to the widening of the highway. Unless all shops are housed in one locality, it is difficult to thrive as various works are carried out by different mechanics located in various parts of the city,” said Dheeraj Sood. They have little hope of the facility being developed despite the development.

Prior to this, the project was assigned to the Transport Department (TD) on July 16, 2019, following a Cabinet decision on July 3, 2019. The work was also entrusted to the Ropeways and Rapid Transport System Development Corporation HP Limited, under the Transport Department, but in the absence of funds, it failed to make any headway.

Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur had laid its foundation stone in April 2018. The UDD was assigned the task to execute the project and bear its cost pegged at Rs 21.22 crore. Following this, a detailed project report (DPR) was prepared and it was decided that 135 showrooms and 140 workshops would be constructed on 15,417 sq m area on the Kather bypass in Solan. However, officials refused to execute the project for the lack of funds. Even the agency which had prepared the DPR failed to be paid its dues of Rs 20 lakh.

“The budget will be sought from the state government to construct Transport Nagar at Solan. Since a detailed project report had been already prepared, we will work out the other modalities once the budget is made available,” said senior officials of the UDD.

Transferred from one dept to another

• Prior to this, the project was assigned to the Transport Department in July 2019.
• The work was also entrusted to the Ropeways and Rapid Transport System Development Corporation HP Limited, under the Transport Department