Cental loan to lay ‘road’ to Punjab polls: MLAs scramble for a piece of Rs 135-crore pie.

Ludhiana: The city is banking on a half-century central govt loan to overhaul its crumbling transit network. With Rs 135 crore on the table and a 50-year repayment plan, civic officials are racing to lock in contracts before the central tap runs dry — even if the weather isn't playing ball just yet. Set to begin a major infrastructure overhaul, the local municipal corporation is allocating Rs 135.8 crore to road construction under this initiative funded by the central government's special assistance scheme, which provides urban local bodies with long-term loans featuring a 50-year repayment window. While the funding eases immediate financial pressure on the cash-strapped MC, it has sparked a competitive scramble among local members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) to secure projects for their specific constituencies ahead of upcoming elections.
Strategic Planning and Weather DelaysDuring a recent meeting of the Finance and Contracts Committee (F&CC), officials confirmed that the majority of the proposed works are concentrated in the Ludhiana North constituency. Even though tenders have already been floated to prevent the lapse of central funds, actual construction is on hold. Officials have noted that bitumen roadwork requires specific thermal conditions, meaning crews must wait for the winter weather to break before paving can begin.A senior MC official said: "We floated the tenders early to ensure we are ready to hit the ground running as soon as the weather permits. The MC lacks the independent liquid assets for projects of this scale, so these 50-year loans are essential to meeting public demand for better infrastructure."Accountability and OversightTo ensure transparency and technical accuracy, additional municipal commissioner Sandeep Rishi has established a specialised committee to oversee the tender process. The committee is tasked with technical scrutiny, financial auditing, and quality control. Its work involves reviewing all engineering specifications in tender documents, Overseeing the opening of financial bids to ensure competitive pricing, and enforcing a mandatory five-year maintenance clause for all new roads. The oversight team includes superintendent engineers Praveen Singla, Ranjit Singh, and Sham Lal Gupta, alongside a panel of executive engineers and subdivisional officers (SDOs).Political StakesThe timing of the rollout is significant as the state prepares for assembly elections. Infrastructure development remains a primary campaign pillar; while previous initiatives like the "Rangla Punjab" scheme were announced with an allocation of Rs 5 crore for each MLA, much of that work remains in the documentation phase. This new influx of cental loan funds allows sitting MLAs to bypass local budget hurdles and present completed projects to voters. MSID:: 126394708 413 |