Punjab: CM Mann reviews Infrastructural development in the state

Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], July 18 (ANI): With an aim to expedite work on all ongoing projects in the state along with initiating and completing the other ones for giving a major boost to the infrastructural development, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday chaired a review meeting of the department his official residence.
The state chief asked the officials to accord top priority to all approved and sanctioned works for their timely completion. He directed the Public Works Department (PWD) officials to ensure proper checks at every stage of the project to ensure good quality of the works.
"The department should strictly adhere to the prescribed specifications for ensuring quality construction, maintenance and repair of the upcoming projects," said Mann.
Chief Minister directed the officers to ensure that work for starting construction of Delhi-Amritsar-Katra National Highway is put on fast-track mode.
"This is an ambitious project, which once, completed will save time, money and energy of commuters travelling from Delhi to Punjab and Jammu-Kashmir especially those desirous of paying obeisance at Mata Vaishno Devi shrine," he added.
He also highlighted that the 254-kilometer-long highway will be constructed at a cost of Rs. 11,510 crores and will pass through nine districts of the state viz. Jalandhar, Sangrur, Malerkotla, Patiala, Kapurthala, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Gurdaspur.
Dwelling on another issue the Chief Minister asked the department to complete the work on the construction of Aam Aadmi Clinics as per the fixed deadline which are to be dedicated to the people on the coming Independence Day.
Bhagwant Mann envisioned that these clinics will act as catalysts for providing quality health care services to people.
The Chief Minister also asked the department to speed up the process for starting work on the construction of Sant Attar Singh State Institute of Medical Sciences at Sangrur.
Reviewing other projects, the Chief Minister also directed the officers to complete the ongoing projects of Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Law University, Kairon (Tarn Taran), Sri Guru Ravidass Memorial Khuralgarh, Garhshankar (Hoshiarpur), Maharaja Bhupinder Singh Sports University, Patiala, Sri Guru Gobind Singh ji Skill Institute, Sri Chamkaur Sahib, Center of Interfaith Studies in Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar and New Bus Stand and Flyover for Entry of Buses at Patiala.
The Chief Minister also underscored the need for strengthening and widening of the planned roads, link roads and other roads network.
"Performance based contracts should be encouraged both in building and road projects where regular provision for maintenance of all government assets should be ensured," he noted.
Mann also batted for the creation of an online repository of government assets (Roads, Bridges and Buildings) so as to effectively manage and monitor them.
The Chief Minister also said that all link roads should be designed in consonance with specifications and guidelines of Pradhan Mantri Graham Sadak Yojna (PMGSY) so as to sustain five years life cycle and also emphasised that training and refresher courses should be ensured for the working engineers in the Department to update their expertise.
CM Bhagwant Mann also underlined the need for creating an online centralized knowledge repository for State Engineering Departments.
Meanwhile, during the meeting, Principal Secretary PWD Anurag Verma informed the Chief Minister that for the construction of High-Speed Economic Corridors, the State Government has collaborated with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for the construction of Expressway, Greenfield Corridors and Bypasses and these projects have been put on a fast-track mode.
He also apprised the Chief Minister that for stringent quality control three additional Regional Laboratories are proposed at Amritsar, Hoshiarpur and Bathinda. Likewise, he said that the online module for Enlistment of Contractors for Class-I, Class-II, Class-III and Class-IV is also in pipeline.(ANI)