National Times Bureau :- The Centre has cancelled projects worth nearly Rs. 800 crore under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) in Punjab, which included the construction of 64 roads (total length 628.48 km) and 38 new bridges. Most of these projects were located in border districts such as Pathankot, Amritsar, Gurdaspur, and Tarn Taran.
The Punjab government has written to Union Rural Development Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, urging early approval to avoid disruption to connectivity in rural and border areas. The projects, sanctioned in March, were to be executed using Full Depth Reclamation (FDR) — an eco-friendly technology that recycles old road material for new construction.
However, the Union Ministry directed that projects without tenders or with work yet to start be scrapped. State Rural Development Secretary Ravi Bhagat, in his letter, assured completion by March 31, 2026, citing delays due to monsoon and the limited number of firms experienced in FDR technology. He argued halting work at this stage would severely impact public convenience.
