Meeting on Kartarpur corridor takes place in home ministry, land acquisition discussed

Jan 15 (AZINS) A meeting to discuss the modalities on Kartarpur corridor took place in the home ministry on Tuesday. Union home secretary chaired the meeting in which Chief Secretary Punjab, DG BSF, DG intel Punjab & Indian envoy to Pakistan Ajay Bisaria were also present. The meeting lasted for approximately 45 minutes.

Land acquisition for the corridor on the Indian side was discussed in the meet among other issues. Home Ministry is the nodal Ministry for coordinating with the concerned authorities, including the local Government. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is the nodal Ministry for building and development of the corridor on the Indian side.

According to sources in Pakistan, India is likely to propose a formal meeting on the Kartarpur corridor to Pakistan, soon. The meeting can happen between 3rd week of Jan to First-week of Feb. Pakistan would accept the proposal and invite for a meeting, as and when proposed

Indian cabinet on 22nd November approved the building of Kartarpur Corridor on the Indian side from Dera Baba Nanak in Gurdaspur district till the border. On the same day, India informed Pakistan its decision to build Kartarpur Corridor and urged Islamabad to develop a corridor in its territory from the International Border to Gurudwara Kartarpur Sahib.

Vice President Venkaiah Naidu laid the foundation stone for the corridor on the Indian side on 26 November 2018 while Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan laid the foundation stone on 28th November on its side of the border. Union Minister of Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Minister of State (IC) for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri represented the Indian government at the groundbreaking ceremony for development of Kartarpur Corridor on the Pakistan side.

PUNJAB CM WRITES TO CENTRAL GOVT ON KARTARPUR

Meanwhile, Punjab CM Amarinder Singh has written to Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the Kartarpur corridor and requested him to waive of the condition of mandatory passport for devotees & put in place simple procedures. This he said in the letter, will enable 'khulle darshan deedar' of the holy Gurudwara. He suggested Central Government that any valid government document such as the Aadhar card should be used for identification. In the letter, he called on central government to create adequate infrastructure at the border crossing which can handle a large number of pilgrims and the land proposed to be acquired should factor in both present and future requirements.