3 NHAI projects terminated in Punjab, Nitin Gadkari tells Parliament
Tribune News Service
Ludhiana, August 8
Countering the claims made by Punjab PWD Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO, the Union Government has once again put it on record that three national highway projects have been terminated in the state for want of land.
Endorsing The Tribune reports on the issue, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday again told Parliament that the concession agreements/letters of award for development of three greenfield national highway projects in Punjab, having length of 104 km with total capital cost amounting to Rs 3,264 crore have been terminated/withdrawn due to non-availability of land as per conditions precedent on the part of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) within the stipulated timelines.
Gadkari, who reviewed the progress of NHAI projects in Punjab at a joint meeting between Centre and state functionaries on July 15, was replying to an unstarred question by Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha.
Chadha had asked whether the NHAI has cancelled projects in Punjab, and if so, the reasons thereof.
The Union Minister informed the Rajya Sabha that 38 projects worth Rs 22,160 crore for development of 825-km national highways were sanctioned for Punjab in the past three years. Besides, 16 national highway projects amounting to Rs 8,197 crore have been included in the 2024-25 annual plan for the state. Gadkari said none of the ongoing 41 national highway projects in Punjab had been completed so far.
Except seven project where 80-90 per cent work had been completed, the progress in case of the remaining 34 projects was dismal, mainly due to land acquisition issues, he said.
