Punjab to construct 44,920-km road stretches; Rs 16,209 crore allocated

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday said the Punjab government will construct 44,920 km of road stretches in the state with an outlay of Rs 16,209 crore.

Addressing mediapersons here, Mann claimed this would be the biggest-ever road project undertaken by the state, adding that tenders will be issued in this regard.

The project includes construction of 2,829-km Public Works Department (PWD) roads and 18,545 km of rural link roads at a total cost of Rs 7,727 crore.

Additionally, 22,291-km road stretches under the Punjab Mandi Board, and 1,255 km of urban roads under various civic bodies will be constructed at a cost of Rs 7,697 crore and Rs 785 crore, respectively, he said.

A total sum of Rs 16,209 crore will be spent on constructing quality roads across the state, Mann said, adding that he has directed contractors not to compromise on the quality of materials and work.

He further said villages will pass resolutions stating they are satisfied with the materials used for the roads, and only then money will be released.

Mann said contractors who will get tenders will have to maintain the roads for five years.

Asked whether the Punjab government has received the state’s rural development fund from the Centre, Mann said it had not been released.

The Punjab government is funding the road projects on its own, he said.

Asked about the Rs 1,600-crore flood-relief amount for the state, Mann alleged that the Centre had “not released a single penny” out of it.

On a question over Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini’s remarks that his Punjab counterpart was ‘playing politics’ over the recent deaths of two youths on basketball courts in Haryana, Mann responded, ‘When we are in politics, what else should we do?’

“During the India Against Corruption movement (AAP was formed subsequently), they used to say we should join politics as laws cannot be made by protesting on roads. When we joined politics, they accuse us of doing politics,” Mann jibed.

“If sports infrastructure is so bad that it claimed the life of a young athlete, and if I went to meet the family in Rohtak and share their grief, is that doing politics?” he said.

In Haryana’s Bahadurgarh, another athlete died in a similar incident, he noted, questioning, “Will sportspersons return dead from the grounds?”

Mann asserted that sports infrastructure across the country needs improvement, also noting that India is set to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games following much controversy regarding the event’s management when it was held here in 2010.

The Haryana authorities did not utilise the Rs 12-lakh funds for the Lakhanmajra sports ground in Rohtak because they were sanctioned by Congress MP Deepender Hooda, Mann alleged.

“Is this doing politics? If going to offer condolence for a teenage player who has died is politics, then we will do it 24X7,” Mann asserted.

The Haryana chief minister hit out at Mann on Friday over his remarks on the recent deaths of two youths due to collapse of iron poles in basketball courts in the BJP-ruled state, saying it is unfortunate to do politics on these issues.

Replying to a question on the visit of Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to Moga and Jalandhar on Thursday, Mann took a dig at the Union Cabinet, saying they treat Punjab as a “tourism place”.

“He (Chouhan) had ‘makki di roti’ and ‘sarson da saag’ and said he will give a report to the Centre. Who gives importance to them? Only two people call the shots there,” he alleged, apparently referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.