EVERY DROP COUNTS
The state has taken impressive strides in trying to ensure drinking water for all, irrigation and rural roads construction
Many thought that after Narendra Modi moved to the Centre as prime minister, Gujarat would slow down. But the state has continued to grow, particularly in infrastructure, including drinking water, irrigation, roads and industrial and agricultural development. Examples include the Narmada dam-based Sauni Yojana to tackle the water issues in Saurashtra, now in its second phase. Total investment is now Rs 13,000 crore in a span of five years. The area it will finally irrigate: 560,000 acres.
Similarly, in drinking water infrastructure, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has made very specific interventions. Based on micro surveys, he has launched schemes to cover areas left out earlier. A Rs 2,624 crore scheme will cover the tribal belt of Dohad, Chhota Udepur and Mahisagar districts in north Gujarat and Valsad and Tapi districts in north Gujarat. As Rupani says, “Our objective is to make Gujarat both power and drinking water surplus. It is already a power surplus state.” The Narmada dam and related projects now cover 10,000 of the 18,000 villages and 150 of the total 170 towns in the state.
In terms of road infrastructure too, Gujarat has done well, even winning an award for implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana. Close to 2,172 km of state highways have been done up during 2017-18. In industrial infrastructure, too, clearances for turning agricultural land into non-agriculture for industrial infrastructure, a major source of corruption earlier, have been moved online. The chief minister himself reviews all projects over Rs 500 crore every fortnight in a meeting.
This has produced results. Maruti Suzuki has announced its third expansion plan at Becharaji in north Gujarat, once a backward region. Says industries commissioner Mamta Verma: “For industry, the easing of processes in securing permissions is really appealing.”