Development was limited to political agenda during Cong rule: Nayab Singh Saini

Chandigarh, Aug 17 (PTI) Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Sunday said that during the Congress government, development remained limited to political agenda and people's aspirations were largely ignored.

Addressing a public meeting in Narwana in the evening, Saini said that the current BJP government has put an end to this approach and has been actively working to integrate every region into the mainstream.

He also gave a major boost to development in Narwana assembly constituency in Jind district by inaugurating and laying the foundation stone for 19 projects worth over Rs 206.32 crore, according to an official statement.

Seven projects with an outlay of Rs 37.25 crore were inaugurated, while foundation stones were laid for 12 projects worth Rs 169.07 crore. These projects were aimed at strengthening road connectivity, health services, water supply and power infrastructure in the region.

Speaking on the occasion, Saini alleged that the previous Congress government deliberately kept Narwana behind in the race for development. The previous regimes neither understood the basic needs of people nor took concrete steps for their upliftment, he said.

Since 2014, the chief minister said, the BJP government has implemented development works worth Rs 2,105 crore in Narwana, whereas the Congress government had carried out only Rs 607 crore worth of work during its tenure.

Saini said the BJP government has not only made promises but also ensured their implementation.

Over the last 11 years, 111 announcements were made for Narwana alone, out of which 98 have been fully completed, and work on the remaining six is progressing rapidly, he claimed.

A total of 628 projects were announced for the entire Jind district, of which 541 have been fulfilled, he added.

"These figures provide clear evidence that the BJP government's focus is not mere political showmanship but ensuring development reaches every village and town," he said.

Saini said the national highway passing through Narwana has been expanded to four lanes at a cost of Rs 1,393 crore. Similarly, the Ambala-Hisar via Kaithal National Highway (NH-10) has been widened to four lanes with Rs 1,200 crore.

The Ambala-Kotputli Greenfield Corridor (NH-152D) built with an outlay of Rs 10,640 crore, is giving a new boost to the state's economy and connectivity, he said.

The Jind-Gohana-Sonipat National Highway (NH-352A) has been made four lane at a cost of Rs 2,300 crore, while the highway from Jind to the Haryana-Punjab border has been widened to four lanes at a cost of Rs 959 crore. Additionally, construction of the Government Medical College at Haibatpur in Jind is underway at a cost of Rs 945 crore, Saini said.

The chief minister also emphasised the BJP government's performance in its third term in Haryana, stating that in just 10 months, 41 out of the 217 promises made in the 'Sankalp Patra' (election manifesto) during the 2024 assembly elections have been fulfilled, with 90 more slated for completion this year.

Convener of the public meeting and Haryana's Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Krishan Kumar Bedi, while taking a dig at the previous Congress regime, said that for many years, the Narwana region have been deprived of basic facilities such as education, healthcare and security, and the pace of development was minimal.

Bedi expressed confidence that the chief minister's visit would pave way for new dimensions of development both in urban and rural areas of Narwana.

Deputy Speaker Krishan Midha said that since the formation of the BJP government, development in the state has progressed at a rapid pace.

Where it once took an hour to travel from Jind to Narwana, the journey now takes only 20 to 22 minutes, thanks to the government's infrastructure projects, Midha said, adding that today, Jind is connected to nine national highways.

Among the projects inaugurated on Sunday, Saini dedicated several key works to the people. These include the widening and strengthening of the link road from Dharodhi to Narwana-Ismailpur road.

The foundation stones were laid for several major projects aimed at strengthening infrastructure and civic facilities. These include the widening and strengthening of the link road from Khanpur to Ismailpur with Rs 1.97 crore and the construction of a new link road from Karamgarh to Loan with a cost of Rs 1.77 crore. PTI SUN RUK RUK