Rupani Gets a Makeover
The CM goes back to the land and targets corruption to overhaul his image
The reduced tally of 99 Vidhan Sabha seats appears to have prompted a major ‘course correction’ by Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani. In his second term, Rupani is keen to project himself as a reformer and is taking measures to curb corruption and improve his government’s efficiency.
The optics have been most effective in the ‘Sujalam Sufalam Jal Abhiyan’, a public-private campaign to deepen 13,000 lakes and rejuvenate 32 driedup river courses to deal with water scarcity from deficient rainfall. The campaign was launched from Shukaltirth in Bharuch district on May 1 with an army of men and machinery— over 250,000 people, mostly from the rural areas, and some 4,000 excavators and 10,000 tractors. By the end of the month, about 11,000 lakh cubic feet of additional water storage capacity had been created. The campaign helped Rupani directly connect with the public on a sensitive issue as he toured all of the state’s 33 districts.
Besides engaging with the water problem, the chief minister has displayed unusual firmness in tackling corruption. Last month, Rupani swiftly suspended former Amreli superintendent of police Jagdish Patel for his alleged role in aiding the kingpin of the Rs 30 crore bitcoin scam.
The new anti-corruption measures are driven by technology. In the urban development department, for instance, building plans can now be submitted online for inspection. The move has been hailed by CREDAI, the apex body of private real estate developers. The government has also made it mandatory for its nearly 12,000 class I and II employees to declare their assets every year or risk a salary freeze. A dozen officers who didn’t adhere to the rule found their salary blocked.
Rupani has also taken it upon himself to resuscitate Gujarat’s municipal towns. To improve management, 172 municipalities, earlier governed by a state director, have been divided among six regional commissioners headed by a state commissioner at Gandhinagar.
Recently, he gave the nod for a 100 MLD desalination plant in Jodia near Jamnagar at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore. “My plan is to set up 10 such desalination plans on Gujarat’s coastline and solve our the drinking water problem in areas where water is scarce,” he said.
Japan K. Pathak, an Ahmedabad-based political analyst, says Rupani is exuding new confidence in his second term. But Congress MLA Lalitbhai Kagathra dismisses Rupani as an illusionist. “Vijay Rupani talks of a water storage campaign, but all the check dams damaged in last year’s floods remain unrepaired,” he says.
Whether or not Rupani’s efforts pay off will be clear next year. In 2014, Gujarat gave the BJP all its 26 Lok Sabha seats. Will Rupani be able to measure up to the feat in 2019?