CHANDIGARH: The Haryana Government has decided to more than double the allocation for repair and maintenance of roads and buildings this year as compared to last year. While the budget for repair and maintenance of roads has been raised from Rs. 68 crores to Rs. 140 crores, that of repair and maintenance of buildings has been raised from Rs. 25 crores to Rs. 72.14 crores this year.

An official spokesman said here on Monday that the plan allocation for construction and upgradation of roads and bridges had been increased from Rs. 217 crores to Rs. 260 crores this year. The government had also abolished the departmental charges to simplify the construction, repair and maintenance of government buildings. For State Government's public sector organisations, these charges had been reduced to five per cent.

And to promote public-private partnership, the State Government had identified five roads in the mining and industrial areas to be constructed on Build

Operate and Transfer (BOT) basis.

He added that the Public Works Department would host the 67th annual session of the Indian Road Congress in 2006-07, the largest conclave of highway

and bridge engineers.

A committee of senior officers had been formed to prepare an action plan for the development of roads and bridges infrastructure around Kundli-Manesar-Palwal Expressway.The Department had also decided to digitilise the road maps of the State.

`Congress conclave a flop show'

The former Member of Parliament from Chandigarh and National Convener of the BJP Legal Cell, Satya Pal Jain, said here on Monday that the recent conclave of Congress Chief Ministers here was a "flop show'' as it had miserably failed in coming out either with concrete proposals to solve the burning issues the country was facing today or finding any solution to any issue concerning the problems of the common man.

Addressing a public rally here, Mr. Jain said that although the conference was attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, a large number of Central Ministers and senior Congress leaders, it "failed in achieving any target which it had fixed for itself''.

Mr. Jain said the polices of the present UPA Government were "anti-people, anti-poor and anti-employee''. He criticised the local Congress leaders for their failure in getting any assurance from Ms. Sonia Gandhi and Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil on issues concerning Chandigarh.

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