CHANDIGARH: Amidst a political standoff between the Punjab government and the Centre, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann met Union Road and Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday.
He discussed several issues prevailing in the State with them.
The standoff between the two sides escalated after the defection of seven AAP Rajya Sabha MPs to the BJP and due to raids conducted by central agencies against ministers and officials.
AAP has been claiming a political vendetta by the BJP.
In the past few months, the political battle lines between both AAP and BJP have been clearly drawn in Punjab, with the former trying to defend its last political citadel and the saffron party showing aggression in gaining political ground in the state.
M Mann has been leading the onslaught from the front.
Mann called upon Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and sought his intervention for the de-notification of certain hybrid paddy seeds to ensure smooth procurement and lifting operations in the state during the forthcoming Kharif season.
He also raised a series of critical issues concerning the state’s farmers.
During the crucial meeting in Delhi, Mann secured assurances on uninterrupted fertiliser supply and groundwater conservation. He also demanded Punjab’s representation in the Central Seed Committee, and pressed for wheat seed subsidy allocation for 2026-27.
Emphasising that Punjab’s farmers had successfully achieved the Centre’s target of 125 lakh metric tonnes of wheat production, Mann asserted that the Punjab Government is now promoting crop diversification to reduce dependence on paddy cultivation.
The move is also intended to conserve rapidly depleting groundwater reserves and pull Punjab out of the dangerous dark zone crisis threatening the state’s agrarian future.
He also strongly pitched for Punjab’s representation in the Central Seed Committee under the proposed Seed Bill 2025 and sought greater support from the Centre for crop diversification and agricultural reforms in the state.
Flagging concerns over hybrid paddy seeds, Mann pointed out, “A few paddy hybrids have been found to exhibit a higher percentage of grain breakage during milling along with comparatively lower Head Rice Recovery in comparison to recommended varieties. Such produce does not conform to the quality standards prescribed by the Food Corporation of India, causing serious inconvenience to farmers during procurement.”
Responding to the concerns raised by CM Mann, Chouhan assured that a special committee would be constituted to examine the issue of hybrid paddy seeds and ensure smooth procurement operations in the state.
Mann also secured major assurances from the Centre for the completion of several long-pending highway and flyover projects in the state after meeting with Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari.
Stalled infrastructure works at Makhu, Adampur and Bhawanigarh are set to move forward, and key road corridors across the state are likely to witness large-scale expansion and four-laning.
Mann also raised Punjab’s demand for declaring strategically important roads, including the Ferozepur-Fazilka corridor near the international border, as National Highways. He also pressed for faster execution of projects that have remained stuck for years due to delays and bottlenecks.
He said the Centre also assured four-laning of the Bhawanigarh-Kotshamir road via Sunam, Cheema Mandi, Bhikhi, Mansa and Maur, besides expansion of the Barnala-Bajakhana and Malerkotla-Barnala corridors.
It is being seen as a major push for the state’s road connectivity, economic movement and public safety. CM Bhagwant Singh Mann further stated that Union Minister Nitin Gadkari highly appreciated the functioning of the Punjab Government’s ‘Sadak Surakhya Force’, launched to protect lives and ensure safer highways across the state.
He raised the issue of the delayed Wallah Flyover project in Amritsar and urged Nitin Gadkari to expedite the work in the larger public interest.
He also sought speedy approval and execution of the four-laning project of the Jalandhar-Hoshiarpur-Manali Road on NH-70. Seeking a declaration of the Chandigarh-Landran-Chunni-Sirhind Road as a National Highway, he said the road is an extremely important State Highway connecting the SAS Nagar district with the Fatehgarh Sahib district, which holds immense historical significance.