18 projects comprising 1,000 km of roads approved in Punjab: Harsimrat Badal

BATHINDA: Union food processing industries minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Wednesday announced that the Union government has approved construction of 18 road projects comprising 1,000 kilometre of roads in Punjab after she and SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal took up the issue with road transport and highway minister Nitin Gadkari.
Union minister in a statement said most of the proposals for construction of new roads had been sent during the SAD-BJP tenure but had lagged behind because the Congress government in Punjab did not shown any interest in following up on them. She said three new road links of the prestigious Delhi-Amritsar-Katra four-lane expressway had also been approved.
She said since eight of these eighteen projects pertained to Ferozepur and Bathinda parliamentary constituencies, the Congress government adopted a go-slow policy on the issue. However, when we took up the matter with the union highway ministry, Gadkari accorded approval to all the road projects.
Harsimrat Badal said new projects which had been cleared included the Delhi- Katra expressway portions in Punjab including the Patran – Nakodar, Nakodar – Gurdaspur and Nakodar – Amritsar stretches. “The detailed project reports are being made with regard to all the eighteen road projects. The work on the projects is likely to start within one year”
She said the projects pertaining to Bathinda and Ferozepur parliamentary constituencies included the Malout – Dabwali stretch, Sunam – Bhaini Bagha, Bhaini Bagha – Kot Shamir, Jhoke Harihar – Buragujjar, Rupana – Malout – Dabwali, Abohar – Fazilka, Jodhpur Romana – Dabwali and Malout – Sadhuwali roads.
The union minister said the projects besides those pertaining to the Delhi – Amritsar – Katra four lane expressway included the Amritsar -Ghoman, Ghoman – Tanda, Amritsar – Ramdas, Hoshiarpur – Una, Hoshiarpur – Phagwara, Sunam – Moonak, Moonak – Uklana and Tanda – Hoshiarpur road stretches.