Punjab road projects in Jagraon and surrounding areas, along with a delayed multi-storey parking facility in Amritsar, came under scrutiny in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha after ruling AAP MLAs questioned ministers over missed deadlines, road accidents and inadequate communication about infrastructure hurdles.
Jagraon MLA Saravjit Kaur Manuke told the Assembly that work on the roads from Lakha to Manuke, Guru Gobind Singh Marg and Raikot-Jagraon had been allotted in October 2023 but remained incomplete. She said she had raised the matter three times in the House and had also called the minister’s secretaries before her committee on two occasions to seek explanations.
Public Works Department minister Harbhajan Singh ETO acknowledged the delay and said 74% of the work had been completed. The remaining 26% would be finished by November 30, he told the Assembly. The government had recovered a penalty of 5%, amounting to Rs 51.24 lakh, from the contractor and would take departmental action against officials found responsible for the delay.
Manuke questioned the effectiveness of repeated assurances, saying officials had earlier promised completion within one, two or three months. She also highlighted accidents and fatalities on Guru Gobind Singh Marg, arguing that a penalty imposed on the contractor offered little consolation to families who had lost loved ones. Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan asked the minister to ensure that the MLA was not disappointed again.
The Assembly also examined the enforcement of conditions attached to land allotted to private hospitals at reserve prices. Mohali MLA Kulwant Singh said allotment letters dating back to 2000 required hospitals to provide free treatment to yellow-card holders and economically weaker patients, including 10% of outpatient services and 5% of indoor treatment.
Kulwant Singh asked the government to establish whether hospitals had complied with these conditions, how many patients had benefited and which department was responsible for monitoring the obligations. He also sought a mechanism to regulate private hospitals and address patient complaints, including disputes over hospital bills.
Health minister Dr Balbir Singh initially said land allotments were handled by the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority rather than the health department. He later assured the MLA that the allotment letters would be examined and strict action would follow if the conditions had not been implemented. Kulwant Singh questioned whether incorrect information had been provided to the House and called for legislation creating a dedicated regulatory authority for private hospitals.
Banga MLA Dr Sukhwinder Singh Sukhi separately raised the issue of charges at hospitals operating under the public-private partnership model. He said the cost of the same operation could vary substantially between hospitals. Dr Balbir Singh said discussions had taken place with the Indian Medical Association and the Central government on regulating hospital charges. He said hospitals should display their fees, but a uniform national regulatory system was not yet in place.
In Amritsar, Central MLA Ajay Gupta questioned the delay in constructing a multi-storey parking facility at Kairon Market in Hall Bazaar. The project was intended to ease congestion in a major commercial area but missed its original completion period. Minister Harjot Singh Bains said work had been held up by existing electrical infrastructure, including transformers and high- and low-tension panels, that had to be cleared by the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited.
Bains said the site was cleared in January 2026 and assured the Assembly that the parking project would be completed by December 15, 2026. Gupta sought strict action if the contractor missed the new deadline and questioned why the local MLA had not been informed earlier about the infrastructure-related obstacles.
