Ravi Dhaliwal
Tribune News Service
Gurdaspur, February 4
The mystery shrouding the name of the agency, central or state, that engraved the names of former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Badal on the Kartarpur Sahib foundation stone has deepened with the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) claiming it had no information.The NHAI, which was initially believed to have suggested the names of the dignitaries to be etched on the stone, said “no information existed in its office.”
Dera Baba Nanak MLA Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa had filed an RTI with the NHAI seeking information on whose decision it was to include the names of leaders who were neither part of the central nor the state government, an obvious reference to the Badals.The ceremony, held on November 26 at Dera Baba Nanak, was jointly presided over by Vice President Venkaiah Naidu and Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh.
A day before the event when the stone was brought, a controversy broke out when a livid Randhawa publically ridiculed the NHAI which, he claimed, “etched the names of the Badals without following protocol.”
An IAS officer attached in the CM’s office also faced the ire of the ministers as it was believed he was the one who instigated the NHAI to etch the names of Badals. The officer is known for his proximity to Parkash Singh Badal.
“The Badals had nothing to do with the construction of the Kartarpur corridor. They are mere MLAs of an Opposition party and not part of any government. Even my name and that of Gurdaspur MP Sunil Jakhar was included on the invitation card at the eleventh hour. It was a clear breach of protocol,” said Randhawa.
He alleged he had concrete information that the Badals had arm-twisted Surface Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari to give the impression to the Sikh masses that they were in the forefront of the struggle to get the corridor sanctioned. He said he would move the appellate authority— Chief General Manager-cum-Regional Office, NHAI, Panchkula in this case—to ferret out the exact information.
Will it beat poll code?
Dera Baba Nanak, February 4
The question in the minds of stakeholders is whether the construction of the proposed Dera Baba Nanak-Kartarpur Sahib corridor beats the impending election code or not, if the tardy progress is any barometer.
Sources say the EC could announce the schedule of the General Election in the last week of February or March first week. The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), the agency engaged by the Union Government to oversee the project, is left facing severe time constraints.
The NHAI has already entrusted Dera Baba Nanak SDM Ashok Sharma for land acquisition. The officer has prepared maps of land that has to be taken over for the 4.25-km road.“This process will be completed in a few days after which tenders will be floated. Once the first spade is dug, the EC’s code will be ineffective as it can’t halt ongoing projects,” said an officer engaged in land acquisition.
The venture is divided into two parts — the building of the road and the Integrated Check Post (ICP). With the formalities for laying the road almost complete and work likely to commence in mid-February, all eyes are on the ICP and whether its construction would beat the code.If at all the work is stalled, it would resume only in June after the new government assumes power. Sources say if this happens, the corridor may not see the light of the day at least not before the 550th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Nanak kick off in November. — TNS