Chandigarh, March 9 -- Finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema, in the budget announcement on Sunday, said Rs.7,606 crore has been earmarked for 2026-27 to upgrade 19,876 km of rural roads through the Mandi Board and the Public Works Department.

"The funds include a five-year maintenance clause. In addition to road infrastructure, strengthening mandi infrastructure is also being undertaken to support farmers and agricultural marketing," the FM said.

Cheema further said that the state has an extensive rural link road network of over 68,000 km, and at present, 40,103 km of damaged roads are undergoing repair and upgradation at a total cost of Rs.12,597 crore under various programmes, including NABARD-assisted projects.

"This is the largest ...