Chandigarh, Oct 15 (IANS): In a major move aimed at facilitating people, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday directed officers to construct 13,400 km link roads at a cost of Rs 2,436.49 crore.

Chairing a meeting here, the Chief Minister said these link roads act as a catalyst in commuting, besides smooth transportation of goods and services to people. He said the link roads give impetus to the economic growth of the state and facilitate the people residing in rural areas.

Mann underlined the need for the construction of these roads as a majority of them have remained unattended even after passing their life of six years.

The Chief Minister said these roads must be constructed by categorising them as top priority, priority and needy roads so that people can benefit from it.

Mann said a ground survey for the need-based and priority-wise construction of these roads must be ensured. He asked the PWD and the Mandi Board authorities to ensure that every single penny is spent judiciously on the construction of these roads.

The Chief Minister said the government has decided to give a major facelift to the link road infrastructure by widening, strengthening and upgradation of these rural link roads across the state. He said keeping in view the importance of this road network to facilitate the people, the state government has taken this decision.

Mann asked the Punjab Mandi Board and the PWD to ensure the high quality of the work, besides ensuring that every penny allocated for that project was invested in a justified manner.

The Chief Minister also said that the technology of artificial intelligence should be used for the need-based construction of rural roads in the state. He said this step will ensure optimum use of the existing resources of the state along with ensuring top-quality work on rural roads.

Mann said this technique will revolutionise the construction work on roads by saving a lot of public money.