Chandigarh, May 10:
In order to improve the roads of the state and improve their maintenance, the Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann has implemented a new tender policy in the state.
Giving information in this regard, Punjab Public Works Minister S. Harbhajan Singh E. T. O. said that in order to develop the infrastructure of the state in a strong, better and sustainable manner, the Punjab government has made provision for long-term maintenance in the tender for the construction of roads, which will benefit the residents of the state, contractors and the department.
He said that with this new provision, people will get good roads through timely and immediate repair of roads, besides, the contractor will be able to plan his maintenance and the department will get relief from the process of repeatedly inviting tenders.
The Public Works Minister said that 85% of the road network of the state of Punjab is rural roads or link roads. These roads play an important role in connecting the villages of Punjab with markets, schools/colleges, hospitals and cities. These roads play an important role in the economy of the state of Punjab.
He said that long-term provisions including special repairs are a win-win solution for all parties. Apart from this, the government is also making open funds available in the budget provisions. The main goal of our government is to use every penny of the public’s income properly and according to the expectations of the common people.
S. Harbhajan Singh E. T. O. said that the Punjab government has drawn up a special repair program for the roads for the years 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25, in which the government has set a target of repairing 2615 link roads of 6015 km in length falling under the Public Works Department with a cost of Rs. 1188 crore. In this project, the maintenance of these link roads for five years is also to be done by the concerned contractor. In this regard, as a preliminary project, tenders have been called for long-term provisions including special repair of 94 roads of two districts of Punjab, Barnala and Pathankot, which are 2096 km in length. Special repair work including long-term repair of these roads will start soon and special repair work on the remaining link roads of the state will also be completed within the stipulated time under similar provisions.
