CHANDIGARH, August 5 — The Punjab government is planning to raise an additional ₹800 crore to repair 8,000 km of rural link roads, intensifying its push to upgrade road infrastructure across the state. This comes alongside the existing ₹1,800-crore initiative—funded through a NABARD loan via the Punjab Mandi Board—to overhaul 12,000 km of rural roads.
A senior official of the Mandi Board said tenders for the 12,000-km road repair project are already in advanced stages, with several contracts awarded. Simultaneously, tenders for the additional 8,000 km of roadworks have also been floated, despite the state’s uncertain financial position.
“The state was initially expecting ₹800 crore in central assistance under various schemes, but the final allocation fell short of projections,” said a senior Mandi Board official. “Since tenders for the additional works were already issued, the government had no option but to urgently explore ways to raise funds.”
The matter was taken up in a high-level meeting held Monday under the chairmanship of Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) Alok Shekhar, where multiple funding options were discussed. Officials said the possibility of the Mandi Board raising a second loan was also on the table.
“This ₹800-crore requirement is separate from the central assistance that is now expected to arrive next month,” said a government functionary. “Another meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday to finalise modalities for raising the necessary funds.”
Together, the two projects—targeting a total of 20,000 km of road upgrades—are expected to address the majority of the backlog in rural road repairs across Punjab. Elected representatives, including MLAs, have been asked to submit area-specific demands to prioritise the repair work.
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had earlier announced the government’s intent to overhaul the state’s rural road network. “The link roads across Punjab will be widened, strengthened, and upgraded. This is a key part of our infrastructure facelift,” Mann said.
Currently, Punjab has 64,878 km of rural and link roads. Of these, 33,492 km fall under the jurisdiction of the Punjab Mandi Board and 31,386 km are maintained by the Public Works Department (PWD). Both agencies will jointly execute the repair and upgrade projects.
