Rs 114 cr Chamkaur Sahib road project remains a non-starter

Tribune News Service

Arun Sharma

Chamkaur Sahib, June 10

A road project (Rs 114-crore), including a bridge on the Sutlej river, whose foundation stone was laid by then CM Charanjit Singh Channi seven months ago has failed to commence.

Land still not acquired

• Ex-CM Charanjit S Channi, who represented Chamkaur Sahib segment, laid the stone of the project in Nov 2021
• Not even a single inch of 76 acres (private and forest) required for the project has been acquired so far
• The land could not be acquired due to the implementation of model code of conduct for the 2022 Assembly poll

Interestingly, not even a single inch of 46 acres required for the project could be acquired so far. Around 30 acres of private land and 16 acres falling in the forest area was to be acquired for the project. Channi had also announced a compensation of Rs 70 lakh per acre. With the completion of the project, the distance between Doaba and Chandigarh would have reduced by 20 km.

Channi, who represented Chamkaur Sahib Assembly segment, had laid the stone of the project in November 2021 and even the contractor had brought the heavy machinery on the site in December. The residents had been seeking the bridge over the Sutlej as they had to travel 15 km extra to reach Jalandhar.

A 12 metre wide and 1,188 metre long bridge on Sutlej and another 42 metre bridge over the Bist Doab Canal had to be constructed for the new 8.1 km link route falling in Ropar and Nawanshahr districts.

As the things didn’t move further, the contractor has started removing shuttering from the spot. Ramneek Sehgal, managing director, Ceigall India Limited, said, “I got the contract for constructing two bridges on the new route for Rs 78 crore last year. I was not given the possession of the land meant for construction. Machinery and other infrastructure set up for the project had been lying idle to date.”

Rajpreet Singh Sidhu, XEN, Public Works Department, said, “The private land could not be acquired due to the implementation of model code of conduct for the 2022 Assembly poll.”

Incumbent MLA Dr Charanjit Singh alleged that it was just a drama by his predecessor to gain mileage during the elections. The former CM just befooled residents by laying foundation stone of the project without acquiring the land, he alleged. “I am trying to revive the project, so that people of my constituency get relief,” he added.

Meanwhile, Channi termed it a failure on the part of the AAP government. Channi said, “A sum of Rs 114 crore along with Rs 70 lakh per acre was approved by the Cabinet during my tenure. The work was allotted and the things did not move further due to the code of conduct. Now, it is the duty of the AAP government to complete the project.”

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