For a district that has waited since Independence for a rail line of its own, Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini’s announcement on Saturday at the Mewat Vikas Sankalp Rally in Punhana carried unusual significance.Saini said the state would write to the Centre for an extension of the Delhi-Agra Namo Bharat rail corridor through Nuh and Punhana up to Bharatpur in Rajasthan. The proposal, if materialises, would give Nuh its first meaningful rail connectivity and, planners say, its first real claim to being part of the National Capital Region (NCR) in more than name.Nuh remains among the most backward districts in the country on several national indices. The absence of a rail network despite repeated assurances from successive governments has long been cited as a key reason for its isolation from the growth corridors of Gurugram and Delhi.A direct rail link to Delhi is expected to change that equation. For a workforce that has historically depended on slow, indirect bus routes to reach job markets in Gurugram, Faridabad and Delhi, a Namo Bharat connection would drastically cut travel time, opening up daily wage and salaried employment opportunities in the NCR core to residents who currently find such commutes unviable. Officials say the corridor could also attract warehousing, logistics and small manufacturing investments to Nuh and Punhana, much like similar rail-led connectivity projects have done elsewhere in the region, potentially creating the biggest new source of economic activity the district has seen in decades.“Nuh is our top priority. Bringing it at par with other NCR districts is our goal. We will send the proposal to the Centre,” Saini said.The announcement also has political significance beyond Haryana. BJP leaders in Punjab have in recent weeks cited Haryana’s NCR development push — including roads, metro and now rail connectivity projects — as a model to pitch to voters ahead of the state’s Assembly polls, arguing that infrastructure-led growth radiating from Delhi can be replicated in Punjab’s border districts. Saturday’s Nuh announcement is likely to strengthen that narrative.Alongside the rail announcement, Saini unveiled development projects worth over Rs 270 crore for the region. On education, the Chief Minister announced the formation of a committee to identify land for a university in Nuh, with Punhana and Pinagwan under consideration.