Chandigarh, August 6- Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal expressed gratitude towards the Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi and Union Railway Minister, Sh. Ashwini Vaishnaw for including 15 railway stations of the state under 'Amrit Bharat Station Scheme'.

Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal was addressing the National Level Function organized at Chandigarh Railway Station on the occasion of virtual laying of foundation stone under ‘Amrit Bharat Station Scheme’ by Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi today. Under this scheme, redevelopment works of 508 railway stations across the country will be ensured in the first phase. On this occasion, Governor Punjab and Administrator, UT, Chandigarh, Sh. Banwarilal Purohit and Assembly Speaker, Sh. Gian Chand Gupta were also present.

It is noteworthy that the 15 railway stations in Haryana which are to be redeveloped and modernised under the Amrit Bharat Station scheme includes Ambala City, Bhiwani Junction, Faridabad, Pataudi Road, Hisar, Bahadurgarh, Jind Junction, Narwana Junction, Narnaul, Kalka, Rewari, Rohtak, Sirsa, Sonipat, Yamunanagar-Jagadhri. Apart from this, 34 stations of the state will also be included in the second phase of the scheme.

Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal said that celebrating the foundation day of the 75th Independence Day of the country on a large scale is not a small event. Today there is an atmosphere of happiness across the country and for this the countrymen deserve congratulations.

The Chief Minister said that in the last 9 years around, remarkable works have been carried out in the field of infrastructure, road and railway system. Not only this major development works have been taken ahead in the airspace and sea route connectivity in the country.

He said after the completion of KGP and KMP, the pressure on Delhi's traffic has significantly reduced, while the state has got 17 national highways, out of which the work of 8 has been completed. The Chief Minister said that now every district of the state is connected to the National Highway. This has given a boost to the economy of the state, he added. Haryana's area is about 1.3 percent in the country's geographical area and 2.90 percent in population, yet it is contributing 4 percent to the country's GDP. Haryana ranks third in the country in GST collection. Apart from this, the state is leading in the country in per capita GST collection, which shows the way of economic prosperity of the state.

Sh. Manohar Lal said that Haryana Rail Infrastructure Development Authority (HRIDA) has been constituted to strengthen the railway system and an MoU has also been signed with the Ministry of Railways, under which Special Purpose Vehicle (HPV) has been formed.

Similarly, the country's first five-kilometer elevated railway track has been built in Rohtak. The work on the elevated railway track at Kurukshetra is almost complete and the Detailed Project Report (DPR) for Kaithal has been prepared. Haryana Orbit Railway Corridor from Palwal to Sonipat has been approved. Apart from this, metro connectivity is also being expanded. He said that Haryana has also received the bonanza of the railway coach factory in Sonipat. The Chief Minister said that with the formation of the Eastern-Western Dedicated Freight Corridor, a network of road networks has been laid in Haryana.

The Chief Minister said that expanding the scope of the Central Government's ‘one district-one product scheme’, Haryana has gone one step ahead and created ‘one block-one product’ scheme in the state and now plans are on the card to form it at the group level as well.

Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal said that Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi has provided economic strength to the country, due to which soon our country is set to join the $5 Trillion economy club. This is getting materialised due to strenuous efforts and great reforms done under the leadership of Prime Minister, Sh. Narendra Modi.

Today, India's infrastructure is taking a new shape under the leadership of the Prime Minister. He said that under the PM Gati Shakti, the Prime Minister himself monitors the infrastructural development in the country. The Chief Minister said that the Prime Minister's blessings have been on Haryana and at present development works worth Rs. 20 thousand crore are in progress for the development of Rail infrastructure & services across the state. Apart from this, a record Rs. 2500 crore has been allocated to Haryana in the budget for the year 2023-24.

Addressing the function as the Chief Guest, Governor Punjab and Administrator, UT, Chandigarh, Sh. Banwarilal Purohit said that today is a revolutionary day in the history of Railways as the Amrit Bharat station scheme is set to revolutionise the country's railway infrastructure. No one could have imagined that the work of redevelopment of 508 railway stations would start simultaneously at one place. He said that along with Haryana and Chandigarh, Punjab would also be benefitted by this scheme as 22 railway stations of Punjab would also be redeveloped under the scheme.

Chandigarh railway station should be named Chandigarh-Panchkula: Gian Chand Gupta

Haryana Vidhan Sabha Speaker, Sh. Gian Chand Gupta said in his address that both Panchkula and Chandigarh are major cities of Tricity. On this occasion, he urged the Union Railway Minister that name of Chandigarh railway station should be Chandigarh-Panchkula Railway Station.

 He also requested the Governor of Punjab and the Administrator of Chandigarh, Sh. Banwarilal Purohit and the Chief Minister of Haryana, Sh. Manohar Lal, to take up the matter with the Central Government at their respective levels.

Sh. Gian Chand Gupta also extended gratitude towards the Prime Minister, for allocating Rs. 511 crores for the redevelopment of Chandigarh Railway Station to make it an international standard railway station.

He said that the work of bringing a metro project in Tricity is in progress, which will benefit the residents of tricity. He said that under the Amrit Bharat station scheme, there is a plan to open city centres near the entrance of cities so that tourists or visitors coming from outside can get all the facilities and information under one roof.

The winners of the essay writing and painting competition organized by the Railways on the topic "What's new in the Railways and the country" were presented with certificates by the Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh, Sh. Banwarilal Purohit and the Chief Minister of Haryana, Sh. Manohar Lal. On this occasion, a documentary film of "I am the railway station of earlier India" and the proposed "Amrit Bharat Station" was also shown.

On this occasion, Mayor of Panchkula, Sh. Kulbhushan Goyal, Mayor of Chandigarh, Sh. Anup Gupta, General Manager of Railway Ambala Zone, Sh. Mandeep Singh Bhatia, DGP Chandigarh, Sh. Sanjay Beniwal, SP Railways Ambala, Smt. Sangeeta Kalia, BJP leader, Sh. Sanjay Tandon besides other dignitaries and officers were present.