A model of the integrated office complex planned by Hudco

May 4: Dispur?s apparent lack of interest has forced Housing and Urban Development Corporation (Hudco) to abandon a proposal to construct a satellite township for the city.

The Union ministry for urban development had decided to provide financial assistance to set up a satellite township in north Guwahati to ease the population pressure in 2000.

Bandaru Dattatarya, the then Union minister of state for urban development had raised hopes by saying, Hudco would provide assistance to the tune of Rs 200 crore for the project.

The project has not yet taken off because Dispur?s apathy and laid-back attitude. ?Even after four years, the project failed to take off since the government did not pursue the matter,? a senior official of Hudco said. The project failed to make any headway and the file is now closed.

Guwahati development minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Guwahati development department commissioner Ashish Bhutani could not be contacted for comments.

?Hudco had shown willingness to make direct investment in the project with the state government playing the role of a facilitator on a profit-sharing basis. But central government enterprise was forced to abandon the project for lack of adequate response from Dispur,? the Hudco official said.

The absence of any long-term vision of development is responsible for the haphazard and unplanned growth of the city. ?With change of government every five years, the priorities also change. This adversely affects the development plans as there is no continuity ,? the official said.

This is not the first time that development efforts have been frustrated. Way back in 1995, a tripartite agreement was signed between Assam government, Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority and Hudco where it was decided to construct a satellite township, an integrated office complex and a housing complex in the city. But because of lack of any follow-up action by Dispur, the agreement remained only on paper.