Badal seeks Rs 960 crore for project to tackle water-logging

Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to declare the plan to tackle water-logging in Punjab as 'National Project' and release central assistance to the tune of Rs 960.62 crore.
Badal called on the Prime Minister, who was here to inaugurate a housing project, at Raj Bhavan this afternoon and apprised him of the flood situation in the state.
The CM said following suggestions of the Mihir Shah committee on addressing water-logging problem and reclaiming fertility of agricultural land, a Rs 960.62 crore project had been submitted to the Centre and urged the Prime Minister to intervene for its quick approval.

"Inordinate delay in sanctioning the project has once again pushed the people of southwest Punjab to miserable condition during the recent flood," Badal said.
Badal sought the approval of Union Cabinet for a cancer hospital in Punjab on the lines of Tata Memorial Centre of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and requested the PM to intervene in the matter for putting the project on fast-track.
He informed the PM that the state government had already handed over the site identified by DAE free of cost.

All concerned departments have given their concurrence to the proposal, which was awaiting green signal from the Centre.

Reiterating his request to revise the quantum of relief in cases of natural calamities, the CM urged the PM to enhance the relief amount admissible under State Disaster Response Fund in case of 100 per cent loss of crops and other damages.
Badal also requested Singh to direct the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and the National Highways Authority of India to expedite work for Ludhiana-Delhi Expressway.
In order to boost investment and industrialisation, Badal had been advocating cause of expressway between Ludhiana and Delhi therefore sought the Prime Minister's intervention to give priority to the project, especially in context of Amritsar-Kolkata industrial corridor, the release said.

The Prime Minister had assured the Chief Minister of positive outcome on the issues, the release said.
Singh told Badal that he would soon take up the issues raised by him with the concerned ministries for their resolution at the earliest.
The Prime Minister had also invited Badal to Delhi with a Comprehensive Project Report to combat the problem of water-logging in the state so that a permanent solution could be found to this problem, it said.