The North News
Chandigarh, November 29
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has unveiled what he says will be the largest road-construction programme in the state’s history, detailing plans to build or upgrade 44,920 km of roads by the end of next year at a cost of ₹16,209 crore.
Speaking in Chandigarh on Saturday, Mann said the project — covering villages, towns and major urban centres — aims to improve mobility and raise rural infrastructure standards. He said all roads will be built with five-year maintenance guarantees and modern safety features, including reflective markings and updated signage.
Mann said 19,373 km of rural link roads were already under construction at a cost of ₹4,092 crore, but added that this year’s floods severely damaged connectivity and increased demand for high-quality reconstruction across the state.
The Chief Minister said multiple departments, including the PWD, Punjab Mandi Board and Urban Local Bodies, had completed a statewide survey to identify roads needing repair, widening or full upgrades.
Responding to questions, Mann said his government’s flying squad had cancelled contracts of several contractors after complaints of poor-quality work. He added that Punjab had not received “even a single rupee” in flood-relief funds from the central government and accused the BJP of misleading the public about special financial packages.
On labour disputes, Mann urged striking PRTC employees to return to work, saying the government was addressing their demands and had taken some matters to court. He announced that 900 new government buses would soon be added to the state fleet.
Mann also warned criminal groups operating in Punjab that the government would maintain a zero-tolerance policy and would “not allow anyone to disrupt peace”.
He rejected allegations by the Haryana Chief Minister that his recent condolence visit to the family of deceased basketball player Hardik Rathi was politically motivated, saying Haryana should instead address its “collapsing sports infrastructure”. Mann said poor facilities had cost the state “two promising players”, even as India prepares to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games.
He also confirmed an early-morning visit to Kurali bus stand to assess transport issues, saying it was intended to ease public inconvenience rather than assign blame.
