JALANDHAR, July 28: The state government has proposed a Rs 1,000 crore project to the World Bank for the four-laning of important roads in the state.Addressing a public meeting here today on the annual function in the memory of Sant Baba Phula Singh, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said that a programme would be launched for repair of the roads in the state, besides constructing new bridges, and fly over bridges on railway lines.He said that already over 8,000 km of link roads had been repaired at a cost of over Rs 200 crore by the government.Badal also laid the foundation stone of 3 km long link road in the village to be constructed at a cost of Rs 25 lakh.Lashing out at the Congress, Badal charged the party with exploting the poor for its own ends leading to backwardness, poverty and unemployment in the country.He said the Congress was solely responsible for the slow economic growth. India's per capita income was even lower than that than even Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Malyasia, he claimed.The Chief minsiter also claimed that during the past one and a half years of its rule in the state, the Akali-BJP government had given a direct economic relief of over Rs 2,000 crores to the farmers, traders, industrialists, urbanites, employees and Dalits.He accused the previous Congress government of having left the state coiffers empty and the state in a condition of bankruptcy.He claimed that due to the sustained efforts by his government the state was now free from any debts which had been got waived off from the Centre.Others present on the occasion included Kanwaljit Singh, Sarwan Singh Phillaur, Swaran Rama, and Ajit Singh Kohar (all Punjab ministers).
