Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday asked officials of the Public Works Department (PWD) to expedite work on all ongoing projects in the state.?According to an official statement, Mann chaired a review meeting of the department here and directed officials to ensure that work for construction of Delhi-Amritsar-Katra national highway is put on fast-track mode.?

He said this is an ambitious project, which once completed will save time, money and energy of commuters travelling from Delhi to Punjab and Jammu-Kashmir especially those desirous of paying obeisance at Mata Vaishno Devi shrine.?

Mann said the 254 kilometer long highway will be constructed at a cost Rs 11,510 crore and will pass through nine districts of the state --Jalandhar, Sangrur, Malerkotla, Patiala, Kapurthala, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Tarn Taran and Gurdaspur.

The CM also asked officials to accord top priority to all approved and sanctioned works for their timely completion. He directed PWD officials to ensure proper checks at every stage of the projects to ensure good quality of the work.?

Mann said the department should strictly adhere to the prescribed specifications for ensuring quality construction, maintenance and repair of the upcoming projects. Dwelling on another issue, the CM asked the department to complete the work on setting up of Mohalla clinics as per the fixed deadline.?

He said these ambitious clinics are to be dedicated to the people during the upcoming Independence Day. Mann said these clinics will act as catalysts for providing quality health care services to people.

He also asked the department to speed up the process for starting work on construction of Sant Attar Singh State Institute of Medical Sciences at Sangrur. Coming up at a cost of Rs 350 crore, this project will be instrumental in ensuring quality health services to the state especially the Malwa region, the statement said.?

Reviewing other projects, he also directed the officers to complete the ongoing projects, including the Sri Guru Teg Bahadur Law University, Kairon (Tarn Taran), Sri Guru Ravidass Memorial Khuralgarh, Garhshankar (Hoshiarpur), Maharaja Bhupinder Singh Sports University, Patiala.?

(With PTI Inputs)