Chief Secretary replaces CM as their head, but Punjab development bodies enjoy poor fiscal health
The recent cabinet decision to amend the Punjab Regional and Town Planning and Development Board Act, appointing the Chief Secretary in place of the Chief Minister as the chairperson of eight regional development authorities, has brought under focus the poor fiscal health of these bodies.
With meagre land capital and limited properties to auction, six of the eight local housing development authorities — Amritsar Development Authority, Bathinda Development Authority, Patiala Development Authority, Jalandhar Development Authority, Sri Anandpur Sahib Urban Development Authority and Dera Baba Nanak Development Authority — are struggling even to meet their administrative expenses.
Only the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority and Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority are financially sound.
Under the SAD-BJP government, the housing department in 2015 had proposed to merge the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA), the umbrella body, with other development authorities, saying there was no point in having multiple development agencies when the work was limited.
But it could not be implemented.
Officials in PUDA say most development authorities have local planning areas in their jurisdictions but they have not carved out any urban estate for the past 10 years. Some depend on the limited sale proceeds from the projects developed under the Optimum Use of the Vacant Government Land scheme.
Most development authorities over the years have failed to perform their intended role, resulting in mushrooming of illegal colonies.
The government has announced creation of a land bank of near 18,000 acres in Patiala, Sangrur, Barnala, Mansa, Ferozepur, Nawanshahr, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, Sultanpur Lodhi, Kapurthala, Phagwara, Nakodar, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Batala, Tarn Taran and Pathankot under the recently announced land pooling scheme. The land would be mortgaged with banks to raise loans.
2 youngest development authorities
To mark the celebration of the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak, Capt Amarinder Singh had formed the Sri Anandpur Sahib Development Authority in 2018. An effort to set up development authority at Anandpur Sahib in 1999 to mark the tercentenary of the birth of the Khalsa did not fructify.
To mark the development of Dera Baba Nanak in context of the Kartarpur corridor, Amarinder had formed the Dera Baba Nanak Development Authority in 2018.
Role of Punjab Regional and Town Planning and Development Board
The Punjab Regional and Town Planning and Development Board was constituted under the Punjab Regional Town Planning and Development Act, 1995. The board has powers related to the planning, development and use of urban and rural lands in Punjab. These powers include advising the state government, preparing and implementing development plans, undertaking execution of development projects, formulating urban land use policies, and promoting research and development in urban planning and development.
Punjab