Punjab minister shows how to re-lay foundation stones

Punjab minister shows how to re-lay foundation stones
PAWANDEEP SOOCH

JALANDHAR, JAN 11: Foubdation stones are a politicians' delight. The ceremony to inaugurate a project is the perfect photo-op, free publicity for doing very little and even if the project fails to materialise, no one is any the wiser. But Punjab Cabinet Minister Ajit Singh Kohar has carried the passion for laying foundation stones to an extreme.

On New Year's day, he laid six foundation stones for link roads at different villages in the Nakodar Assembly Constituency. There was just a slight hitch, sitting Congress MLA Amarjit Singh Samra had already laid the foundation stones at these spots a couple of days earlier.

As if this were not enough, the minister has also laid foundation stones at three sites where the construction of the roads has been approved, but the tenders are yet to be opened. This is to be done on January 15.

Ajit Singh Kohar, when contacted by this correspondent, denied that any foundation stone had been laid at these spot before his visit. However, a trip to the Nakodar Constituency, as the accompanying photographs show, revealed a different picture.

Two foundation stones to a road can be seen at Sarhali, Atta, Sargundi, Sang Dhesian, Kangniwal villages and at Gurdwara Saila Sahib.

Joga Singh, sarpanch of Kangniwal village, while recalling the incidents said, ``It was on the morning of December 28 that Amarjit Samra laid the foundation stone for the road leading from our village and later, Ajit Singh Kohar did the same thing on January 1.''

The story, according to Samra, is very simple. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal had issued a letter to all the MLAs of Punjab, informing them of the approval for the construction of roads recommended by the MLAs. Amarjit Samra had also received the letter and the list of roads which he had proposed.

All the six roads are part of that list. Samra, while talking to ENS, alleged that Kohar's move was aimed at promoting Gurmeet Singh Daduwal, an Akali leader, who was defeated by Samra during the previous assembly election.

Coincidentally, each of the foundation stones laid by Kohar mentions that the construction of the road has been carried out with the help of Gurmeet Singh Dadowal. It is not clear what exactly is Dadowal's contribution to these state government projects proposed by the MLAs.

Samra said it was only at the behest of the sarpanches of his constituency that the government was forced to allot 20 km length of new roads to each assembly area. He added that when the Akali government came to power, it withdrew all the grants for the construction of roads.

The sarpanches of Nakodar district -- with Samra's support -- had filed a writ in the High Court and the Court had directed the government to divide the construction of roads equally among all constituencies under this scheme. He had received information from Badal regarding the approval of the proposed roads.

Kohar, however, maintained that he was accompanied by the Mandi Board officials, who had constructed the roads, and Samra was not competent to lay the foundation stones without the board officials. He said that Samra should have contacted the Mandi Board officials for the laying of foundation stones.