Ludhiana: Four firms express interest, Atal Apartments’ construction likely to take off
LUDHIANA: The Ludhiana Improvement Trust, which is running from pillar to post to begin construction of flats under the Atal Apartment scheme, has received response from two firms each for building of HIG and MIG flats.
The officials have received response for HIG flats to be built at Rs 125 crore and MIG flats at Rs 70 crore. Response for other facilities is awaited.
They claimed that the process will take at least two weeks as they have to check the bidders’ technical feasibility. After technical approval, they will check the financial aspect and seek the approval of deputy commissioner and other authorities for the same. Theys claimed that LIT chairman Tarsem Bhinder is in a hurry to initiate the work so they have been asked to fulfil the responsibilities at the earliest.
LIT executive engineer Vikram Kumar said, “We have received response from two bidders for construction of flats and are assessing their technical aspects. We will begin construction after completion of all formalities.”
The project’s total cost is around Rs 224 crore and the LIT will take at least three years to give the possession of flats to the public. The tenders were floated for construction of 336 HIG and 240 MIG flats, community centre and tower parking on 8.8 acres land in Shaheed Karnail Singh Nagar on Pakhowal Road.
The project will have twelve-storey residential earthquake resistance towers and these apartments would have facilities of swimming pool, gymnasium, green parks, clubhouse, CCTV cameras, 24-hour water supply, table-tennis rooms, multipurpose hall, double lifts with round-the-clock power backup, video-door phones in each flat, big balconies, fire hydrant system, rainwater harvesting system, small commercial center, and a separate five-storey parking facility.
Loan refusal
However, the allottees seeking to avail bank loan for making payment of the flats are still complaining of refusal from the banks as nothing has been constructed at the site yet. The LIT officials have already sought relaxation for the allottees. Chairman Bhinder had even approached local bodies minister Balkar Singh personally to request the same. Officials, who are hopeful of a positive response, said otherwise allottees will have to bear penalty as well.