Cash-strapped Punjab govt looks to NABARD for improving road infra in villages

Ruchika M Khanna

Chandigarh, September 20

With hundreds of kilometres of link roads in rural area of Punjab in a pathetic condition, the cash-strapped state government is now looking to the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to get finance for rural infrastructure development and start the work for upgrading/road repairs.

The only funds available to the Punjab Mandi Board are those released by NABARD under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) scheme.

Punjab government had even gone to the Supreme Court of India, demanding its share of RDF, which has not been given to the state for the past four crop marketing seasons. The case is listed for hearing on September 25.

Harchand Singh Barsat, chairman of Punjab Mandi Board, told The Tribune, that till the time they would get their RDF dues totalling Rs 3,622.40 crore, they were trying to look at other sources of finance to keep the repair work of link roads going.

A decision has been taken by the state government after a recent meeting of the Punjab Mandi Board, that from now on all rural link road repairs, upgrading and construction is to be taken up under the RIDF scheme. This meeting was chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.

A four-member committee comprising Secretaries, Punjab Mandi Board and Punjab Rural Development Fund, state nodal officer of rural link roads and chief engineer, link roads, has also been formed to look into the issue of seeking funds from NABARD for road repair work.

It is learnt that 4,280 km of rural link roads in the state are due for repairs. With the funds in Punjab Mandi Board drying up because of the stopping of RDF and 1 per cent cut in MDF after the previous Congress government had taken loan to fund its Crop Loan Waiver scheme, the Aam Aadmi Party government has now decided to prioritise the road repair/ upgrading based on the condition of roads, and deputy commissioners in each district have been asked to do the same. Rural link roads are repaired every five years, but for the past eight years these roads have not been repaired. For the 2,112 link roads, the board needs Rs 693 crore and for the link roads, Rs 1,400 crore are needed.

Official sources say that in case the government delayed the start of repair work, the cost of repairing/ upgrading of these would go up from the present Rs 15 lakh per km to Rs 18 lakh per km.