The government on Tuesday refuted the charge by a minister in the Congress government in Punjab that India was lagging behind Pakistan in completing the work on the Kartarpur Saheb Corridor on the Indian side.

“The government remains committed to expeditiously realise the Kartarpur corridor so that the pilgrims can have easy, smooth, secure and safe access to the holy Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib throughout the year,” official sources here said.

They were reacting to a report in which Punjab’s Cooperation and Jails Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa was quoted as saying that India had just completed 30 per cent of the work on the corridor while Pakistan had finished 70 per cent of the work.

The statement came days ahead of technical-level talks between India and Pakistan on the corridor at the Attari-Wagah Border on 14 July.

Explaining the work on the corridor being done on the Indian side, sources said a state-of-the-art passenger terminal building was being constructed by the Land Ports Authority of India. The work was awarded on 29 May to Shapoorji Palonji company.

The land acquisition process has been completed with the support of the Punjab Government and the project was scheduled to be completed by 31 October. The total cost of the project was Rs 177.50 crores.

A four-lane highway connecting Zero point of the Kartarpur corridor up to National Highway 354 was being constructed by the National Highway Authority of India. The work was awarded in January at a total cost of Rs 120 crores. The land acquisition of 58 acres has been completed with the support of the state government. Nearly 45 per cent of the work has been completed. The road was scheduled to be completed by 30 September, sources added.

They said concerns regarding possible flooding of Dera Baba Nanak due to the construction of an embankment filled road on the Pakistan side have been raised strongly with Islamabad.

Three rounds of technical level discussions have been held with the Pakistan side and it has been asked not to create structures that would, in any manner, endanger life and property on the Indian side due to flooding. India was already building a bridge on its side to provide for all-weather connectivity to the Kartarpur corridor.

Pakistan has also been building a similar bridge on its side that would provide safe and secure movement of the pilgrims and also address concerns with regard to flooding.

Sources said the issues related to providing facilities to the pilgrims, including allowing a larger number of pilgrims to move across the corridor and other modalities for the corridor would be further discussed at the 14 July meeting.