The Hindu : Other States / Punjab News : Amarinder intervenes to ensure 100-crore loan for heritage complex

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Sunday, Dec 19, 2004

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Amarinder intervenes to ensure 100-crore loan for heritage complex

By Our Staff Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, DEC 18. Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh today intervened to order sanction of State guarantee required for raising a Rs. 100-crore loan from a nationalised bank for the prestigious Khalsa Heritage Complex at Anandpur Sahib, where construction work had come to a standstill due to lack of funds.

According to an official press release, "personal efforts'' of Capt. Amarinder Singh led to a consortium of five banks, headed by Punjab National Bank, sanctioning the loan of Rs. 100 crores. The bank has drawn up a complete plan for the project to ensure steady flow of funds to ensure no future interruptions in the construction of the project, which was started in 1999 to commemorate the tercentennial of the creation of the Khalsa order in the Sikh religion.

Meanwhile, sources in the State Government said that the construction company, L&T, which had been entrusted the job withdrew its experts, engineers, other work force and equipment after the authorities could not keep up with the payment schedule. The construction at the site, at Anandpur Sahib in Ropar district, has been at a complete standstill for a few months, which also explains that the state government could not maintain its deadline of making the first phase operational by September this year.

Secretary Cultural Affairs and CEO of the nodal agency for the project, the Anandpur Sahib Foundation, D.S. Jaspal disclosed that at least Rs 221 crore were required for the completion of this project. So far, Rs 79 crore have been spent and for the remaining amount, still required for completion, the Chief Minister had personally taken up with the Prime Minister for providing at least one-third contribution from Union Government.

The Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, had responded favourably and also made a public announcement in this regard, at Amritsar, in September, on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of installation of the holy book of the Sikhs, Guru Granth Sahib, in the Golden Temple, which the holiest shrine of the community.

Meanwhile a spokesperson of the state government informed that on Friday afternoon, Secretary for Department of Culture in the Union Government, Neena Ranjan, visited the site. Apart from Mr. Jaspal, Associate Architect, Ashok Dhawan, senior officials of L&T, and the National Institute of Design at Ahmedabad, were present on the occasion.

Ms. Ranjan indicated that while participating financially in the project, the Union Government, would also regularly monitor the achievement of physical and financial targets. The L&T officials said that in case the funds had been secured, it would require at least two months to mobilise their work force and equipment. They have indicated that the construction of the project would be completed within 15 months of restarting work.

The Khalsa Heritage Complex, when completed, will be one of the largest interpretive historic museums in the world with over 5000 square meters of exhibit area. The museum, inspired by the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. has been designed by the world renowned Boston based architect Moshe Safdie.

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Amarinder intervenes to ensure 100-crore loan for heritage complex