Bittu engaging in false rhetoric to hide failure: Punjab minister over rail overbridge project

Chandigarh, July 1 (PTI) Punjab Cabinet Minister Harbhajan Singh Tuesday accused Ravneet Singh Bittu, the Union minister of state for railways, of misleading people over a rail overbridge project in Sangrur, claiming the entire funding of over Rs 54 crore will be borne by the state government.

A couple of days earlier, Bittu accused Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of taking "false" credit for the Dhuri rail overbridge project and alleged that the state government made no effort for it.

"In the past three years, Mann has not provided a single rupee to the railways for cost sharing of overbridge projects in the state. The Rs 54.76 crore claim is pure optics. Can the CM tell in which head this amount is lying and why it has not been disbursed till now?" he had asked.

Hitting back, Singh on Tuesday said the Dhuri rail overbridge project, which was approved on October 24, 2024, will be entirely constructed by the state government. The government has released funds for this purpose, he stressed.

He pointed out that in June 2021, when the Congress was in power in Punjab, the daily traffic at the site was already around 1.75 lakh vehicles.

"However, Bittu did not raise the issue at that time. Now, he is engaging in false rhetoric to hide his failures," the Punjab minister said.

He alleged the railway authorities did not grant approval for the overbridge even though the Central government was not contributing a single rupee towards its construction.

"Despite being the Union minister of state for railways, he failed to get the necessary approval," Singh claimed and urged Bittu to refrain from making "false statements and misleading people on development issues".

Mann, on June 29, said the construction of the rail overbridge at Dhuri will commence soon, and necessary clearances have been granted by the rail ministry after "persistent efforts" of the state government.

Once constructed, the rail overbridge is expected to play a crucial role in resolving the traffic congestion faced by residents of the Malwa region, particularly those in Dhuri. PTI CHS NSD NSD