A prod from chief minister Raghubar Das seems to have put the upcoming Khadgarha terminus on fast track even as several other projects across the capital are dragging their feet for years.
A couple of days after Das asked the state urban development department to complete the long-pending bus depot fast, Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) officials, including CEO Prashant Kumar and chief engineer Suresh Paswan, visited Khadgarha terminus on Thursday to take stock of the ongoing work.
After the recce, RMC CEO Kumar said the Rs 10 crore terminus - coming up on 18 acres with a G+1 office building, 19 bus bays, a parking lot for 100 cars and a food plaza among others - would be ready within the new deadline (September end).
Envisaged around a decade ago, the project was kicked off in May 2013 with a deadline of 18 months. But it missed its completion date in November 2014 and again on Tuesday (June 30).
"We have already removed some hurdles like water pipelines and overhead wire. We will remove encroachment within two days," Kumar said.
Though the chief minister's rebuke prompted Ranchi civic authorities to expedite work on the bus terminus, the civic body continues to ignore several other projects.
Jaipal Singh Stadium near Kutchery has turned into dump yard thanks to the civic authorities, who left the much-hyped facelift work midway. Launched in November 2013, the Rs 3.28-crore project includes a food court, a park, playground and a vending zone on the southern side. RMC chief engineer Paswan said the stadium was set to miss November-2015 deadline.
The RMC decided to renovate Town Hall, located just opposite to Jaipal Singh Stadium, in 2010. The Rs 8-crore modern centre with two food courts, a 400-seat auditorium, underground parking facility and a park, was to come up within two years. "We have been hearing about its renovation but it's been closed for years," said Manu, who sells litti outside the Town Hall.
Over 100 huts and cowsheds were demolished and around 1,000 people were evicted from the banks of Nagababa Khatal near Raj Bhavan in 2011 for a proposed urban haat. The civic body had plans to develop the area on the lines of Delhi's Palika Bazar with an estimate cost Rs 2.5 crore. The project is yet to see the light of day.
A Rs 12-crore daily market was proposed near Main Road in 2012. Five years later, the RMC is yet to remove encroachment to start the project.
Asked, RMC CEO Kumar said it was difficult to say as to when these projects would be completed. "We will complete all our pending projects but our priority is to finish the Khadgarha bus stand first."
