Gadkari laid stone twice: Ajanta

'Road projects sanctioned by UPA government under SARDP, new bridges have no Central sanction'

By Our Staff Reporter

Guwahati, Feb 28: Taking at jibe at Nitin Gadkari, Assam PWD minister Ajanta Neog today said the four 4-lane roads whose foundation stones were laid by the Union Road Transport minister yesterday were ongoing projects sanctioned by the then UPA government under the Special Accelerated Road Development Programme (SARDP) for the Northeast.

"In fact, Gadkari had laid their foundation stones last year at a programme in Jorhat in presence of Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. That is why the Chief Minister abstained from yesterday's function," Neog said.

She also claimed that the Central government has not yet given sanction to the four bridges over Brahmaputra announced by Gadkari yesterday.

"When we received the invitation from the tiol Highways Infrastructure Development Corporation Limited (NHIDCL) for yesterday's programme, we checked up with the Central ministry if the bridges have received sanction. They said no. We are surprised as to how the Union minister could lay the foundation without government sanction," Neog said, a day after Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi described Gadkari's announcements as "election gimmicks".

Neog, however, said the State government would be happy if the bridges are built as they would benefit the people.

She also said a road is declared a tiol highway through a gazette notification.

"Yesterday, Gadkari announced a new tiol highway in the State (the proposed road connecting Jorhat-Majuli-Lakhimpur-Sivasagar). But we haven't received the gazette notification so far," she said.

The State minister further informed that Chief Minister Gogoi will lay the foundation stone for the Chandrapur-Kurua bridge over Brahmaputra - a State project - on Tuesday.

"The bridge will connect Darrang to Guwahati and will ease traffic on the Saraighat bridge," she added.