Mohali Roads Project Faces Corruption Allegations

Congress leader Balbir Singh Sidhu has accused Punjab’s Aam Aadmi Party government of inflating a Rs 912.63 crore roads project in Mohali and demanded an investigation. (indianexpress.com) The project covers 83.4 km of road and junction work in Mohali under the Mohali Next Generation Roads Programme. Punjab awarded it to Hisar-based Gawar Construction Limited, with a bid of Rs 673.99 crore and total financial outgo rising to Rs 912.63 crore after Rs 238.64 crore in interest annuity over 10 years. (tribuneindia.com) Sidhu said that works out to about Rs 11 crore per kilometre over a decade and called the spending unjustified. He also questioned why an out-of-state contractor was selected and asked for scrutiny of the tender and payment structure. (indianexpress.com) At the center of the dispute is the hybrid annuity model, a contract system in which the government pays part of the cost over time instead of all at once. In Mohali, that financing structure pushed the headline cost above the contractor’s base bid and turned a road-upgrade plan into a political issue over long-term public spending. (tribuneindia.com) The fight did not begin this week. By March 26, 2026, Mohali deputy mayor Kuljit Singh Bedi had asked the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority, or GMADA, to pause the tender until the Punjab and Haryana High Court ruled on petitions challenging the process. (hindustantimes.com) Those court cases are still hanging over the award. The letter of award says the contract remains subject to the final outcome of two civil writ petitions, one by the GMADA Contractors Association and another by rejected bidder VRC Constructions India Limited, and it also says the scope of work could be reduced further. (tribuneindia.com) Criticism is now coming from more than one opposition party. Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal also questioned the award on April 19, 2026, focusing on transparency, cost escalation and the choice of a Haryana-based firm. (babushahi.com) Supporters of the project point to the official structure of the award: Punjab has issued the letter of award, named the lowest evaluated bidder and tied the contract to court outcomes and performance-security conditions. The contractor must furnish performance security within 15 days and sign the contract within the period set in the request for proposal, or the award can be cancelled. (tribuneindia.com) For now, the Mohali roads plan is moving ahead on paper but not free of legal and political risk. The next test is whether the court challenges, and demands for a probe, change the final size or terms of a project that has already been revised more than once. (tribuneindia.com)