Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, wrote to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday concerning alleged attacks on engineers and contractors in Jalandhar and Ludhiana.
In his letter, Gadkari stated, “I have been informed about two recent incidents on the Delhi-Katra expressway projects. In one incident in Jalandhar District, a contractor’s engineer was brutally assaulted. While an FIR has been registered, strong action is required against the perpetrators. In another incident in Ludhiana District, the contractor’s project camp for the Delhi-Katra Expressway was attacked by miscreants who also threatened to burn the camp and its staff alive. Despite written requests from NHAI officers, no FIR has been filed and the miscreants remain at large.”
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He further urged the state government to take immediate corrective measures, file FIRs, and take strong action against the offenders to prevent such incidents in the future and restore the confidence of NHAI officers and staff of the concessionaires.
Gadkari also noted, “Due to pending land acquisition issues and the current law and order conditions, concessionaires have requested to foreclose contracts and have raised claims against NHAI. If the situation does not improve, NHAI may have no choice but to cancel or terminate eight other severely affected projects, covering a total length of 293 km and costing ₹14,288 crore.”
In response, Punjab Inspector General of Police Sukhchain Singh Gill stated that the case is under review by the Chief Minister and that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted. An FIR has been registered. “The law and order situation is under control. We will ensure additional security for NHAI if needed,” Gill added.
(WITH INPUTS FROM ANI)
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