Punjab forms ‘CM Flying Squad’ to monitor quality of road construction

In what officials described as a first-of-its-kind initiative, the newly formed squad will ensure quality control and will also be held responsible for any lapses or discrepancies detected in road construction projects

Chandigarh

A notification regarding the formation of the squad was issued by the state government on Friday (HT File)

The Punjab government has set up a “CM Flying Squad” to monitor the quality of work being carried out by the public works department (PWD) and the Punjab Mandi Board in the carpeting and construction of link roads across the state.

In what officials described as a first-of-its-kind initiative, the newly formed squad will ensure quality control and will also be held responsible for any lapses or discrepancies detected in road construction projects. A notification regarding the formation of the squad was issued by the state government on Friday.

The squad comprises senior engineers from the PWD and the Mandi Board. Devinder Singh Semi, executive engineer (XEN) of the Mandi Board at Jalandhar, will oversee quality checks in Sangrur, Malerkotla, Barnala, Fatehgarh Sahib, Faridkot, Fazilka, Ludhiana, Mansa, SAS Nagar, Sri Muktsar Sahib, Patiala and Rupnagar. XEN Baldev Singh will monitor projects in the Doaba and Majha regions.

For PWD works, XEN Manpreet Singh Dua will lead the monitoring in Malwa, while Rajeev Saini will head the squad in Majha and Doaba districts.

A senior government official said the move comes amid reports of poor-quality work by some contractors. “The squad will act as a quality enforcement team to ensure that all link roads meet prescribed construction standards,” the official said.

The initiative comes as the state prepares for a major overhaul of its road infrastructure. Over the next two months, the government plans to carpet and repair around 19,000 km of roads at a cost of more than ₹1,200 crore. The Punjab Mandi Board has raised a ₹1,800-crore loan from NABARD to fund the project.

Punjab has a total of 64,878 km of rural and link roads, with 33,492 km maintained by the Mandi Board and 31,386 km under the PWD.