Punjab govt approved 54.46CR for the overbridge project in 2024 itself
Misleading the people of Punjab is an old habit of Ravneet Bittu and BJP: Harbhajan Singh
Punjab Newsline, Chandigarh-
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Cabinet Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO accused Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Bittu of misleading the public on the issue of the Dhuri railway overbridge. He stated that the entire funding for the overbridge construction (54.46CR) will be borne by the state government, and the funds have already been released.
ETO clarified that the overbridge will be entirely constructed by the state government. He further stated that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann approved the project on October 24, 2024. ETO also shared related approval documents with the media. He added that since 2022, when Bhagwant Mann became the Chief Minister, he had announced the construction of this overbridge. The government has released ₹54.46 crore for this purpose.
Challenging Bittu, ETO pointed out that in June 2021, when the Congress government was in power in Punjab, the traffic at the site was already around 1.75 lakh vehicles daily. However, Bittu did not raise the issue at that time. Now, he is engaging in false rhetoric to hide his failures.
ETO further informed that 1.32 crore has been released to PSPCL for utility shifting, and 1.42 crore has been allocated to the Forest Department for the same.
He accused the Railway Department of not granting the No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the overbridge, even though the central government is not contributing a single rupee towards its construction. Despite being the Union Minister of State for Railways, Bittu has failed to get the necessary approval. ETO challenged Bittu, stating that if he genuinely cares for the people of Punjab, he should facilitate the issuance of the NOC from the Railways.
ETO assured that if Bittu can secure the Railway Department’s approval within two days, the state government will commence construction work on the third day itself, as the required funds are already available. He emphasized that the state government is only waiting for the Railway Department’s NOC to begin the project.
The AAP leader urged Ravneet Bittu to refrain from making false statements and misleading people on development issues. He also appealed to him to cooperate with the state government in expediting the paperwork for the overbridge construction.