Mohali-Rajpura link will be taken up soon, 30 railway stations in Punjab being redeveloped: Minister Bittu

“The revised detailed project report (DPR) on the Mohali-Rajpura broad-gauge link will be prepared at the earliest. The link is a long pending demand of the Punjabis and will shorten the distance by 55 km compared to the present route of Rajpura-Ambala and Mohali-Morinda. The DPR of this proposed link was earlier prepared in 2016-17 with a project cost of Rs 312.53 crore,” said Bittu.

” As the rate of return was negative by per cent 5 per cent, the ministry had asked for consent from the Punjab government for cost-sharing and to provide the land free of cost in a communication on November 24, 2016, from the Railway Board to Punjab chief secretary. However, despite repeated reminders, there was no response from the Punjab government even after eight years. Now we will prepare fresh DPR and share it with Punjab government for further action,” added Bittu.

“This section length would be 38.880 km spread across 43.192 hectares of land in three districts -S A S Nagar, Fatehgarh Sahib and Patiala,” said Bittu, a three-time former Congress MP who lost Lok Sabha elections 2024 from Ludhiana on a BJP ticket.

Bittu said 55 km of new railway line are targeted in the current financial year, including the doubling of the Ludhiana-Mullanpur (Baddowal section), Ludhiana-Kila Raipur and Nangal Dam-Talwar lines, and the Mukerian new line, at an approximate total cost of Rs 2,400 crore.

He further said 30 railway stations in Punjab were being redeveloped under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme. These are Amritsar, Anandpur Sahib, Nangal Dam, Rupnagar, SAS Nagar, Bathinda, Mansa, Kotkapura, Moga, Sirhind, Abohar, Fazilka, Ferozepur Cantt, Muktsar, Gurdaspur, Pathankot Cantt, Pathankot city, Hoshiarpur, Phagwara, Jalandhar Cantt, Jalandhar city, Phillaur, Beas, Kapurthala, Dhandari Kalan, Ludhiana, Patiala, Dhuri, Malerkotla and Sangrur.

Only five — Amritsar, Beas, Bathinda, Jalandhar city, and Pathankot Cantt—are in the planning phase, while work is in progress at the rest at a cost of Rs 1,103.27 crore.

Known for taking a tough stand against the radicals and pro-Khalistanis, Bittu said that he has no hesitation in meeting the parents of radical leader Amritpal Singh, who is currently in jail and has been elected as an independent MP from Khadoor Sahib recently.

“I was told that his (Amritpal’s) parents want to meet me and discuss something. I am all ears if they want to discuss anything related to national interest or public welfare and within the ambits of law. I can also go and meet them if they wish,” said Bittu.