E-Paper
Punjab govt to raise ₹800 cr to repair 8k-km rural roads
Punjab government plans to raise ₹800 crore for repairing 8,000 km of rural roads, adding to the ₹1,800 crore loan for 12,000 km repairs ahead of elections.
With pressure mounting from MLAs to repair rural link roads keeping in mind the Punjab assembly elections in early 2027, the state government has decided to raise more money (approximately ₹800 crore) to repair 8,000-km roads. This will be in addition to the Punjab government’s move to repair 12,000 km of rural roads by raising a loan of ₹1,800 crore from NABARD through the Punjab Mandi Board that is the nodal agency to repair these roads.
The process of finalising the contractor to repair 12,000-km roads is underway and many tenders have already been allotted. According to a senior Mandi Board functionary, the government has also floated the tender for the additional repair of 8,000 km of link roads connecting rural areas without considering the financial implication of the cost.
“Earlier, the government was expected to receive financial assistance to the tune of ₹800 crore from the Centre under different heads. However, the state got information about receiving less assistance as compared to the expectations. As the tenders for the additional road works were already floated, an immediate need was felt to raise money for the same,” said a senior official of the Mandi Board.
It was because of this urgency that a meeting of officials from the Mandi Board and the state government was convened today under the chairmanship of additional chief secretary (finance) Alok Shekhar.
“Various possibilities of raising money for additional roads were discussed. This will be in addition to the central assistance which is expected to be received next month,” said a government official. “Another meeting on the issue has been called on Tuesday to finalise the modalities to arrange funds,” a Mandi Board official said.
The idea of raising another loan by the Mandi Board was also discussed in the meeting, it has been learnt.
The push to repair more 8,000-km link roads with existing 12,000 km is expected to result in the repair of majority of the rural roads for which the demands have been sought from MLAs and other representatives of the state government.
The chief minister has already stated that the state government has decided to give a major facelift to the link road infrastructure by widening, strengthening and upgrading the same. The Punjab Mandi Board and the PWD would jointly undertake the work.
The state has 64,878 km of rural and link roads, of which 33,492 kms are under the Mandi Board while 31,386 kms are under the PWD.
