State govt took 25 days to compile corridor meet minutes: Harsimrat
LUDHIANA : Reiterating that the Punjab government is delaying the work on Kartarpur corridor, Union minister for food processing industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal showed the route map proposed by the NHAI, during a press meet at Ladhowal here on Friday.
The route map, she said, was approved at a meeting in Delhi on December 12 last year, but it was only on January 7 that the minutes of the meeting were received by her. She said the delay in compiling the minutes of the meeting by the Punjab government shows the ‘interest’ of Captain Amarinder Singh in the project.
“The December 12 meeting was held under the chairmanship of additional chief secretary, home affairs and justice, Punjab, in the presence of local MLA, and officers of NHAI, Border Security Force, Indian Army, excise and customs, immigration depart- ment, ministry of external affairs and Intelligence Bureau,” she said. “Taking 25 days to compile the minutes proves how interested this government is in the corridor. I think, they wrote a word daily to compile the minutes,” she said.
Harsimrat said the Punjab government has been asked to start land acquisition for which the requested khasra numbers will be forwarded to it in a day or so. Reacting to Amarinder’s comments that the Centre is delaying the project, she said it was ridiculous that the CM doesn’t know that the land has to be acquired by the Punjab government. “The Centre will directly be making the payment to those whose land will be acquired, but it has to be first acquired by the state government,” she said.