Chandigarh: Apna Punjab Media: Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has taken initiative to remove bottlenecks on national highways. Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, during a meeting in Delhi on July 15, had warned Punjab that upcoming road projects would be stopped if bottlenecks on national highways were not removed. The Chief Minister has taken this strict tone of the Central Government seriously.
Chief Minister Mann called an emergency meeting of Public Works Department officials in which department minister Harbhajan Singh ETO was also present. The main issue of discussion was the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway, which has hundreds of hurdles in its completion. About 20 to 25 percent work on the road is left. The Chief Minister discussed this project in detail today. The Chief Minister has given targets to the officials regarding this project. In the meeting, the Chief Minister said that to complete this project, he himself will enter the field and will directly communicate with the farmers whose land has been acquired. Compensation to be given to farmers and related issues will be identified. It was also discussed in the meeting that some people are doing their politics by provoking the farmers who are suffering from the development of the state. The Chief Minister decided in today’s meeting that he will soon hold initial talks with the concerned farmers and then take the next step. Remember that the Punjab government has taken a two-month extension from the central government. The central government has already canceled three national road projects worth Rs 3303 crore and central action on projects worth Rs 4942 crore is under process.
