“New National Highway projects will not be allotted to Punjab if possession of the land acquired for National Highways is not given”
Chandigarh: Apna Punjab Media: Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari today warned Punjab that new National Highway projects will not be allotted to Punjab if the land acquired for National Highways is not handed over. This is a worrying message for the Punjab government as construction and repair of rural link roads has come to a halt due to suspension of rural development funds by the central government. Union Minister Gadkari today held a review meeting regarding national highways in Punjab.
In this meeting, Punjab Public Works Minister Harbhajan Singh, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister VK Singh, Principal Secretary of Electricity Department Tejveer Singh and Principal Secretary of Public Works Department Priyank Bharti, besides officials of National Highway Authority and National Highway Contractors also participated in this meeting. Keep in mind that the Central Government has already canceled three National Highway projects worth Rs 3,303 crore due to lack of land, while action on projects worth Rs 4,942 crore is in process. Union Minister Gadkari today bluntly said that there is no hindrance in road construction in the entire country and the work of Delhi-Amritsar-Katra Expressway in Haryana is nearing completion. This road is to be inaugurated in Haryana in the next six months. He said that possession of the land of many parts of this project in Punjab has not been received yet.
Public Works Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO asked Gadkari to give new road projects to Punjab, commenting on which Gadkari said that if the Punjab government does not remove the hurdles in the national highway projects, then these central projects will also be rejected. will be done. Gadkari said that until the problems of existing projects are resolved, new road projects will not be given to Punjab. In the meeting, the Punjab government made the excuse of Lok Sabha elections and also raised the issue of demands made by farmers’ organizations regarding compensation. It is noteworthy that 1,500 km of National Highway projects worth about Rs 52,000 crore are underway in Punjab, which also includes the Jam Nagar-Amritsar project. Talking about Ladowal toll plaza in Ludhiana district in the meeting, Gadkari said that Punjab is incurring a toll loss of Rs 1 crore every day. He said that the Punjab government has now succumbed to the arbitrariness of the taxi drivers.
