CM gives nod to Rs. 315 Crore Tourism Infrastructure development Project in Punjab

Punjab amongst one of the four states selected by Asian Development Bank
CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal gave the Green signal to Rs. 315 Crore Tourism Infrastructure Development Project funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).



The decision to this effect was taken by Badal on Monday in a meeting with a team of ADB led by its team leader Ludwig Reider, who made a detailed power point presentation on the prestigious project.

It may be recalled here that Punjab is one of the four states selected by the Asian Development Bank for such project. Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu are the other three states. Rs. 40 Crore would be spent during first year and the entire project would be completed with in five years.

Emphasizing the need for world class infrastructure to promote sustainable and inclusive tourism development Badal said that there was a great tourism potential in the state as Punjab was a mosaic of religious, historic, cultural, colonial historic and natural heritage.

Reider informed under the first phase of Sikh heritage circuit, the ADB would fund the site projects of Amritsar Walled City, Golden Temple, Ram Bagh Area, Gobindgarh Fort, Townhall, Rose Garden, Mughal Route, Dera Baba Nanak, Quadian, Hargobindpur, Achaleshwar, Pandhori Dham, Masania, Kishankot and Keshapur Wetland.   He also informed the Chief Minister that the work on the first phase of the project would began from March 2010 and the concept evaluation team of ADB would soon visit the sites for the submission of final report to the ADB. 

The Chief Minister also asked the ADB team to include the historic event of Wada Ghallukara in Khanuwan in Gurdaspur district in the Sikh Heritage Circuit.