CM's festival bonanza to Punjabis, launches scheme to construct 19,491 km Link Roads at a cost of Rs 4150 crore

Chabaal (Tarn Taran)(The uttam Hindu): In a major gift to the people of state during the ongoing festive season, the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Friday embarked on a major project to repair and upgrade 19,491.56 kilometre rural link roads in the state at a cost of Rs 4,150.42 crore.

Addressing the gathering, the Chief Minister bowed his head at the sacred land of Tarn Taran which has footprints of fifth Guru of Sikhs, Sri Guru Arjan Dev Ji and ninth Sikh Guru, Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur ji and Baba Buddha ji. He said that today is a historic day, especially for the rural areas of Punjab as the repair and upgradation work of rural link roads is being initiated today. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the Punjab Government has taken another historic decision as now, along with repairing these link roads, their maintenance will also be ensured for the next five years by the contractors.

The Chief Minister said that there are total 30,237 Link Roads in Punjab with a total length of 64,878 kilometres adding that 33492 kilometres are under Punjab Mandi Board and 31, 386 kilometres are under the Public Works Department (PWD). He said that the Punjab Government is now starting a project to repair and upgrade 7,373 link roads with a total length of 19,491.56 kilometers. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the project will cost Rs 4,150.42 crore, which includes five years of maintenance adding that Rs 3,424.67 crore will be spent for repair and upgradation whereas Rs 725.75 crore will be spent for five year maintenance.

The Chief Minister said that the e-tendering process for the repair and upgradation of these roads has been completed and the entire work will be done in a transparent and corruption free manner. He said that an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Survey was conducted for these roads, which resulted in savings of Rs 383.53 crore. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that to ensure high quality during road repair and upgradation, for the first time, a “Road Infrastructure Development Meeting” was conducted.

The Chief Minister said that in this meeting, Mandi Board officials, contractors, and other stakeholders discussed key issues and all contractors and agencies were clearly instructed that no compromise should be made on quality in this link road project, and that proper maintenance must be ensured under all circumstances. He said that to ensure public safety during foggy or dark conditions, a special road safety project is being implemented on the repaired and upgraded link roads at a cost Rs 91.83 crore. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that a three inch wide white strip will be painted on both sides of the link roads to make travel safer during fog or darkness.

Likewise, the Chief Minister said that near schools or public gathering areas located along link roads, zebra crossings will be marked on both sides of school gates and public areas to alert drivers and ensure the safety of children and pedestrians. He said that for the first time in the history of the state after every two kilometers on all link roads, Citizen Informatory Sign Boards will be installed. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that these boards will display the road name, length, executing agency, and other important information about the road to ensure greater transparency in the system.

The Chief Minister said that the main motive of the campaign is to facilitate the people as these Link Roads act as a catalyst in commuting and smooth transportation of the goods and services to people. He said that these link roads are the arteries of economic growth in the state as they help the people residing in rural areas to commute on one hand and give impetus to trade and business on the other. Bhagwant Singh Mann asked the Punjab Mandi Board and PWD to ensure high quality of the work besides ensuring that every penny allocated for that project was invested in a justified manner.

The Chief Minister said that the common man pays tax for every single thing he consumes but the Kings and the big leaders are unaware about it. He said that these leaders who scant knowledge about Punjab, Punjabis and Punjabi language as they have studied in the schools at hills. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that these leaders have no concern about the common man and they have always given preference to their own vested interests.

The Chief Minister the traditional political parties are envious of him because they are not able to digest that the son of a common man is governing the state effectively. He said that the people of the state have lost their faith in the traditional political parties because of their anti-people and anti-Punjab stance. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the wise and brave people of the state had ousted these parties during the 2022 assembly polls due to which they are frustrated now.

The Chief Minister said that the state government will adopt no leniency towards the ‘Jarnails’ who were the perpetrators behind the genocide of youth through the curse of drugs. He said that the Jarnails who had patronized the drug trade have already been put behind bars adding these leaders not only used to patronize drug trade across the state but ironically they even sold/ supplied the drugs in their official government vehicles. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that in the past no one had previously dared to arrest these affluent leaders, but now his government has done so and they will have to pay the price for their sins.

The Chief Minister said that during the untiring efforts of the state government, Punjab has been already made a power surplus state. Bhagwant Singh Mann bemoaned that natural fury in the form of floods have made a huge loss of the state. He said that the floods have submerged over 2,300 villages, affected more than 2 million people, and destroyed crops across five lakh acres of land.

Tragically, the Chief Minister said that around 60 lives were lost, and around seven lakh people were rendered homeless adding that 3,200 government schools were damaged, 19 colleges reduced to rubble, 1,400 clinics and hospitals were ruined, 8,500 kilometers of roads were destroyed, and 2,500 bridges collapsed. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that as per initial estimates, the total damage amounts to approximately Rs 13,800 crore, though the actual figure can be even higher. However, he said that the state government will compensate the people for the loss of every single penny and farmers will be given Rs 20,000 per acre for the crop loss, which will be the highest in the country.

Taking the Akali Dal Chief Sukhbir Singh Badal for issuing baseless statements, the Chief Minister said that the day is not far away when people will throw stones on the former Deputy Chief Minister for an unstable approach. He said that the President of Akali Dal is now boasting that concrete walls will be raised around the rivers whereas the fact is that people know that they failed to even construct streets during their long misrule. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the Akali Chief is distributing money earned through wrong means to people and in most of the villages the same fund is recycled just to mislead the people.

The Chief Minister said that people of state have ousted the political parties that used to play musical chairs of power to loot them after every five years. He said that his government has been given a chance by people to serve them and they will work hard to fulfill their expectations. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the opposition leaders start their day by slamming him just because they are envious of the pro-people decision taken by his government.

Slamming the Government of India for giving cold shoulder to the demands of the state even in this hour of crisis, the Chief Minister said that the funds meant for the state are stopped citing frivolous reasons. He said that this reflects that hostile attitude of the Centre towards the state, which is known as the food bowl and the sword arm of the country. However, Bhagwant Singh Mann said that despite this the state will contribute its share in the national food and fulfill its duty to provide food security to the people.

The Chief Minister said that he is well versed with the needs of the border areas of the state, which are inhabited by the brave and patriot sons of the soil. He said that the state government has already raised the issue of shifting the Border Fence towards the International Border, wherever possible without compromising on national security. Bhagwant Singh Mann also said that the state government will also explore the feasibility of starting several other development projects in the district too.

On the occasion Cabinet Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar and Harbhajan Singh ETO, MLA Sarwan Singh Dun and Sherry Kalsi, Chairman Mandi Board Harchand Singh Barsat, Secretary Mandi Board Ramvir and others were also present.