New Delhi : Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is on a Delhi visit today, where he is scheduled to hold crucial meetings with Union ministers to discuss pending infrastructure and agriculture-related matters concerning the state.Local News
As per the schedule, Mann will first meet Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari at 1 PM, followed by a meeting with Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan at 3 PM. The Punjab Chief Minister is also expected to address the media later in the day.
During the meetings, discussions are likely to focus on stalled projects of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), lifting of wheat stocks from warehouses, and preparations related to paddy sowing in Punjab.
This will be Mann’s first official meeting with Gadkari amid prolonged tensions between the Centre and the Punjab government over national highway projects in the state. The dispute has largely revolved around issues related to law and order and land acquisition.
Earlier, Gadkari had written to Mann expressing concern over the safety of NHAI officials and contractors in Punjab. Referring to alleged attacks and threats against engineers in Jalandhar and Ludhiana, the Union minister had warned that eight major highway projects worth nearly Rs 14,288 crore could be cancelled if the situation did not improve.