Chandigarh, Nov 29 (IANS) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday announced the start of road construction of 44,920 km with an outlay of Rs 16,209 crore, touting it as the biggest in the state’s history. The Chief Minister told the media here that his government has decided that by the end of next year, it will build a total of 44,920 km with a five-year maintenance clause, ensuring the highest quality standards along with world-class road safety features. The step is aimed to provide better mobility and boost rural infrastructure, he said.

Mann said that the government has already undertaken construction of 19,373 km of rural link roads with a total cost of Rs 4,092 crore. As the government toiled hard on this project, the unprecedented devastation caused by the floods this year further eroded the connectivity and mobility in affected areas. He said the ongoing road projects envisaged with a path-breaking five-year maintenance clause in the contract to ensure longevity and quality, along with world-class safety standards like luminous lane and edge markings, signage and others.

This inundated the government with requests from all quarters to provide the same high-quality and standard roads across all cities and villages, he noted. Replying to a media query, Mann said the Chief Minister’s Flying Squad is continuously monitoring the quality of roads, and after receiving several complaints about the use of substandard material, contracts of some contractors have been cancelled. If any contractor is found to be involved in poor-quality work or if any employee is part of it, strict action will be taken against them, he asserted.

Mann said that the state government has not received even a single rupee of Rural Development Fund from the Central government so far, and the government is constructing all these roads from its own funds. The Centre has not given even a single rupee out of the Rs 1,600 crore special flood relief package to the state, and the BJP leadership in Punjab is lying about it, he said. On the strike by state roadways employees, the Chief Minister appealed to all employees to return to work and adopt the path of dialogue with the government. He said the government is making sincere efforts to resolve all issues of PRTC employees and has even taken up some matters in court. He said the agitating employees should end their protest and return to work so that the public does not face any inconvenience.