State highways need better maintenance: PWD Minister

After the fatal death of 5 persons yesterday on Ferozepur road near Jagraon,PWD Minister Sharanjit Singh Dhillon reached at the spot to take stock of the situation. Dhillon stated that last year Public works department(PWD) had handed over the maintenance of this road to the national highway authority of India(NHAI),but after that condition has gone from bad to the worse. The stretch from Mullanpur to Jagraon is in a very bad shape and though NHAI had called for tenders of 4 laning of this road in 2010,work order was given in early 2011. However no work can be seen at the site,he added.

The forest department is not giving clearance for the project as yet,said Dhillon. He said,” last week i had met the project Director Rampal Bangar and he told me that patch work will start in ten days and later nothing was done and now I am getting this work done somehow.The bad condition of this road is responsible for fatal accidents,” he alleged.

He added that in addition to this even another road from Jalandhar to Dhilwan is pot holed. The officers who are not repairing the highways need to be punished,he said.

He stated that NHAI is collecting enough money through toll taxes but now doing enough in name of maintenance.