The Punjab Government in principle has decided to file review petition before National Green Tribunal to vacate the stay imposed on felling of trees along prestigious road projects of national importance in the state of Punjab. The decision has been taken to accelerate the construction process of National as well as State Highways, the work of which has come to standstill due to the ban of NGT. It was disclosed by Mrs. Razia Sultana, PWD Minister while chairing the quarterly review meeting of the PWD department held today at Punjab Bhawan Chandigarh.The PWD Minister said that the Punjab Government has already got the nod from the Union Ministry of Environment & Forests for executing the construction work on the major road projects in the state. She said that Punjab PWD had to be stop the work on these projects due to the ban of the National Green Tribunal. She said that NGT in its decision in the recent past has imposed ban on Punjab against felling of trees.During the review of the progress on various religious and other historical monuments, Mrs. Razia Sultana was apprised by Mr. Hussan Lal Secretary, PWD that the construction work on these projects has been hampered due to the dearth of funds.
In the wake of this, the Minister instructed the Secretary PWD to arrange a meeting with Mr. Navjot Singh Sidhu, Tourism Minister to bring to his notice the status of these flagship tourism projects. She said that these projects are being funded by Tourism Ministry so she will urge Mr. Sidhu to release the adequate funds to carry on the construction works.Mrs. Razia Sultana said that previous SAD-BJP government willfully & deceitfully didn't make adequate provisions to fund these projects. She said that the work on these projects will continue at any cost and she will request Finance Minister and Tourism Minister to release funds for the remaining construction work. The Minister was also apprised that the construction on some of the state highways has also been halted as the Forest Clearance has not been accorded.
The Minister instructed Mr. Hussan Lal, Secretary, PWD to urgently take up the matter with Forest Minister, Punjab. Mr. A. K Singla, Chief Engineer brought to the notice of PWD Minister that the construction work of various prestigious projects like; Judicial Court Complexes, Meritorious Schools, University & Colleges, Modern Jails and Community Health Centers (CHCs) , is in full swing and it would be completed this year. The PWD Minister directed the officers to ensure the quality of work. She said that quality standards must be maintained at any cost and asked them to execute the work with full transparency sans any corrupt practices. She said that anyone found involved in under the carpet operations while executing the development work would not be spared.Among other who were present in the meeting included Mrs. Madhvi Kataria, Special Secretary, PWD, Yogesh Gupta, Arwinder Singh, K.K. Garg (Chief Engineers) and Superintending Engineers of all wings of the department.