PATNA: The city’s North Gandhi Maidan stretch is likely to wear a different look in the near future with a world-class international convention centre slated to come up there. Awaiting a final go-ahead from the CM, this 250-crore centre will be a major boost to cultural, recreational and business activities in the state.
Spread over 11 acres, this magnificent structure will come up at the site which at present houses the residences of city SP and district judge, MLA’s bungalow along with the division office of the building construction department. All these buildings will be demolished in phases and in their place will come up a grand structure with a capacity to accommodate 5,000 people at a time. This riverside centre will be a fusion of both modern and traditional Buddhist architectural features.
In the final stage of conceptualisation, the centre will have it all – a plenary hall, cultural and media centres, VIP lounge, an entertainment corner, convention zone, concourse area with lifestyle shopping and a food court – an all-round entertainment for people of all hues and backgrounds.
The issue was discussed in a meeting held under the chairmanship of advisor to deputy chairman, Planning Commission, Gajendra Haldea, on April 15 in New Delhi while reviewing the PPP programme in Bihar. Besides four officials of the Planning Commission, five senior Bihar government officials, including principal secretary, health, Amarjeet Sinha, attended the meeting.
The meeting also felt that there was need to prepare a proper feasibility report by engaging a town planner or an architectural expert. Accordingly, as a starting point, it was decided either to engage a town planner of national/international repute to provide a report on the land use plan of Gardanibagh area or to undertake a detailed survey by the government department concerned to assess how much land of the area is available for development and measures required to vacate the area that has encroachments.
The meeting also discussed three projects that are being considered by the state government for taking up in the PPP mode: a super-speciality hospital in the Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna; super-speciality hospital in the Jayaprabha trust hospital, Patna; a district hospital in one of the divisional headquarters.
It was decided that after a decision is taken by the state on setting up three super-speciality hospitals, one greenfield pilot scheme on PPP mode could be undertaken.
Proposals for power distribution in PPP mode in respect of two towns – Patna and Muzaffarpur – have been submitted by the Bihar State Electricity Board to the energy department. Similar proposals have been submitted for Darbhanga and Munger districts, as per the decision in a high-level meeting.
The Delhi meeting felt that the proposed project for Patna may be taken up first and based on the model that emerges, other districts could be taken up.
The Planning Commission, in a recent letter to Bihar chief secretary has requested him to arrange a meeting with CM Nitish Kumar early next month, wherein a detailed presentation on these issues could be made for giving a go-ahead signal.