After missing 4 deadlines, DAC project to be completed in August

It has been 7 years since the Punjab government had initiated the work on ₹98 crore district administrative complex (DCA), Amritsar, with the motive to accommodate both civil administration and police department under one roof, but the project is still lingering.

The project has missed several deadlines and now is expected to be completed by August.

The construction of the building, which was halted after completion of 80% work two years ago due to paucity of funds, has not seen much progress since then.

The project was inaugurated by the then Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal in 2013 at an estimated cost of ₹74.2 crore. The project cost was later revised to ₹98 crore in 2017. However, the public works department (PWD) reportedly did not receive the funds from the state government which delayed the project further.

Deputy commissioner (DC) Shiv Dular Singh Dhillon had in July 2019 announced that Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh has directed the state finance department to release ₹10 crore for the project and promised that it will be completed before the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak.

The project was earlier supposed to be completed by July 2016, later it was revised to July 2018, then December 2018 and November 2019.

PWD executive engineer (XEN) Jasbir Singh Sodhi said, “The construction of the building is 80% complete and only final touches are to be given. Due to fund crunch, the project was moving at slow pace.”

“The state government has released the funds and we will soon get them. We have resumed the construction work. The project will be completed in another six months. We plan to handover the building to the district administration in August,” he added.

It is worth mentioning that in the absence of the complex, residents have to shuttle between departments, which are located in different areas of the city. Once completed, the 3.85 lakh square feet area of the complex will have room for both civil administration and police department with better infrastructure facilities.