Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Saturday announced state's biggest road construction drive at Rs 16,209 crore. CM Bhagwant Mann informed the media that previously a budget of Rs 4,092 crore for 19,373 kilometers of roads was announced. Now, the government is going to build 44,920 kilometers of roads. Tenders will be issued for this.
CM Bhagwant Mann addressing the media said-
"Roads are always a big topic. Roads connecting villages, roads connecting towns, link roads, 18-foot, 22-foot, 25-foot link roads. They've always been an issue for every government. So, I want to share some information about this today.
First, I started a 19,373-kilometre road project worth Rs 4,092 crore, which is still ongoing. Now, adding these, we are going to build a total of 44,920 kilometres of road. The tender for that will be issued.
The Chief Minister shared a detailed category-wise breakdown of the biggest road construction drive
PWD Planned Roads (12 ft, 18 ft and wider roads): 28,029 km
Rural Link Roads under PWD: 18,545 km
Punjab Mandi Board Roads: 22,291 km
Municipal Corporations, Municipal Councils & Panchayat Urban Roads: 1,255 km
Taking all these together, 44,920 km at a cost of Rs 16,209 crore is being built as quality roads.
CM Mann revealed that he had recently convened a meeting of all major contractors at Tagore Theatre, Chandigarh. “I requested contractors that nobody will ask you for commission. No PWD or Mandi Board official will seek money from you. But let there be no compromise on road quality,” he said.
To ensure quality of roads are maintained during construction, the state has set up a CM Flying Squad to monitor construction quality. Mann said the squad had already taken action in recent days.
We have a strict five-year maintenance clause, contractors themselves must repair roads, and the cost is already included,” he said.
"This is the largest road construction done so far in Punjab. Before this, almost 45,000 km of road was not mapped by anyone," added CM Mann.
