Selja Questions BJP Governments Over Delayed Projects and Rising Costs, Seeks White Paper

CHANDIGARH | PEN OF DEMOCRACY NEWS DESK

Kumari Selja, Sirsa Member of Parliament, former Union Cabinet Minister, All India Congress Committee national general secretary, Congress in-charge of Uttarakhand and member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), has questioned the functioning of the BJP governments at the Centre and in Haryana. She said genuine development cannot be achieved by renaming or reshaping projects launched during the Congress regime and presenting them as new achievements.

Referring to a published news report based on the Centre’s project-monitoring figures for October 2026, Selja said the cost of 1,853 major projects had increased by approximately Rs 3.22 lakh crore. The cost escalation in 25 mega projects alone was reported to be around Rs 2.11 lakh crore. She said the figures raised serious questions about government monitoring, timely execution and financial accountability.

Selja said the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, launched during the Congress-led government, was followed by the BJP government’s much-publicised Smart Cities Mission. However, despite substantial expenditure, several cities continue to face basic civic problems. The government, she said, must disclose how many projects under the Smart Cities Mission have been completed, how much money has been spent and what tangible benefits have reached citizens.

Project Cost Escalations Raise Questions Over Accountability

The figures cited by Selja point to a substantial increase in the estimated costs of major public infrastructure projects. She said such escalation called for close scrutiny of planning, monitoring, execution timelines and the use of public funds. The government must explain the reasons behind delays and ensure that project costs do not continue to rise without clear accountability.

Haryana Projects Remain Stalled, Says Selja

The Congress leader alleged that several important projects in Haryana had remained stalled or incomplete for nearly 12 years. She said the Chief Minister continued to make fresh announcements, but many had not translated into the expected results on the ground. Delays in projects related to roads, drinking water, sewerage, healthcare, education and urban development were imposing a direct burden on ordinary residents.

She said the Congress believed in transparent administration, public welfare and accountable development. The governments at the Centre and in Haryana should issue a white paper detailing the status of pending projects and fix responsibility for delays and cost overruns, she demanded.

People Need Completed Projects, Not New Slogans

Selja said people did not need new portals, renamed schemes or attractive slogans; they needed development projects completed on schedule. Giving an account of every rupee of public money, she added, was both a constitutional and moral responsibility of the government.