Amarinder urges ADB for expeditious clearance of loans

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh Friday urged Asian Development Bank (ADB) Country Director Kenichi Yokoyama to expeditiously clear the state's loan proposals to ensure early implementation of development projects worth Rs 3,127 crore.

The projects include 24X7 surface water supply system for Jalandhar and Patiala, besides conservation of historical monuments and buildings across the state.

At a meeting here, the chief minister apprised Yokoyama that Punjab was facing acute scarcity of potable water, especially in the four major cities of Patiala, Jalandhar, Amritsar and Ludhiana.

Amarinder said the state government had prepared a comprehensive plan to shift these cities from tubewell water to canal water to provide the people with quality drinking water.

Making a detailed presentation, Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board CEO Ajoy Sharma said the total cost of the proposed surface water supply system was Rs 700 crore in Patiala and Rs 1,227 crore in Jalandhar.

He said the Local Government department would soon get a feasibility report prepared, through a technical consultant of international repute, in consultation with the representatives of ADB.

The department would then work out the modalities for bidding for the project, a Punjab government statement quoted him as saying.