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| A rickety building at Gardanibagh in Patna. Plans are afoot to give the area a facelift. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey |
Patna, Aug. 25: An ultramodern multi-storeyed urban centre would soon replace the old and dilapidated government quarters at Gardanibagh area. The state building construction department is planning to develop a township for government employees there.
“We are planning to develop a modern urban centre in the state capital under public-private-partnership (PPP) mode. The urban centre has been proposed at Gardanibagh staff quarters colony. A proposal in this regard has been sent to the cabinet for seeking its approval after which we may initiate preparation of a detailed project report (DPR) as the first step,” state building construction department minister Damodar Rawat told The Telegraph.
According to sources, once the cabinet gives its approval the project would be handed over to the infrastructure development authority (IDA), the executive authority for the project. IDA would then develop the project on PPP mode. Experts are of the view that the project is likely to be completed in 18-24 months after a go-ahead from the cabinet.
The sources said the proposed urban centre would be spread over an area of approximately 290 acres at Gardanibagh. The current market value of the land is estimated at Rs 1,200 crore.
There are 717 residential government quarters at the proposed site, among which 490 are occupied by the state government employees belonging to different categories. The remaining 227 houses are almost abandoned or illegally occupied at present. Sources said all the existing houses would be razed for developing the urban centre. But the institutional establishments, including existing government schools and hospitals, would be left untouched.
The proposed urban centre would be a self-sustaining township. Sources said the initial bid has been made for construction of over 1,200 modern residential dwellings in multi-storeyed buildings. Such buildings would be equipped with all modern amenities, including swimming pool, gymnasium, clubhouse, playground, ample parking facility and elevators.
The centre would also have commercial complexes, including shopping malls, theatre, community hall, health and fitness centres. The urban centre would be spacious and would also have enough green cover like parks and gardens for people of all age groups.
The building construction department sources said the proposal sent to the cabinet talks about preparation of the DPR of the urban centre by Vadodara-based Karan Grover and Associates. Sources are of the view that it would be difficult to temporarily relocate all government employees occupying the quarters for developing the centre. Thus, many of the occupants may be reimbursed housing rent for staying in private accommodation till the proposed dwellings are ready.
According to sources, the Gardanibagh staff quarters was built in the ’50s. The houses are in a shoddy state now.
“The government staff quarters, at present, is in a poor condition as water seepage and wall plasters coming off is a routine. Many occupants have repaired their houses on their own. The sewage network in this area, too, is in a bad shape. Moreover, around 50 per cent of the houses are illegally occupied,” said a state government employee residing in quarters on road number 15 of Gardanibagh.
Total makeover
Present picture:
Total land: 290 acres
Market value of land: Rs 1200 cr
Number of staff quarters: 717
After facelift:
More than 1200 modern residential dwellings
Urban centre will have swimming pool, gymnasium, clubhouse, playground, ample parking facility, elevators, shopping mall, theatre, health centres
