Anandiben meets Modi, seeks early solution to Gujarat’s pending issues


New Delhi, 9 June, 2014

Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel today paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. It was her first visit as she greeted Mr. Modi as the Prime Minister.

During her meeting with the Prime Minister, she discussed ways for early solution to various important projects pending with different Ministries at the Centre for long.

Mrs. Patel had a detailed discussion on raising the height of the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) main dam on the Narmada pending without adequate reasons. She requested the Prime Minister to issue appropriate direction to the Tribunal for permitting sluice gates at the dam, treat SSP at par with DPP for AIBB for accelerated completion of the irrigation project with eligibility for Central assistance.

She pleaded with Mr. Modi to recognise the Statue of Unity near SSP dam on the Narmada to commemorate Sardar Patel as a national project.

Mrs. Patel sought Central assistance for starting phase-1 of the Ahmedabad Metro Rail project, developing Sabarmati station as second railway terminal, extending the Ahmedabad-Vadodara Expressway up to Mumbai, including Gujarat’s1,600-km long Coastal Highway as National Highway.

She asked for the Centre’s second instalment of the Dandi Heritage Marg as well as expanding the Sabarmati Ashram, the applications for which were pending with the Union Government.

Looking to the strategic importance of the border state of Gujarat, the Chief Minister asked for setting up the regional centre of National Security Guard (NSG), Coastal Security Guards Training Centre, constructing a jetty for the coastal security, hastening the slow pace of work on border fencing with Pakistan, early settlement of environmental clearance for the Gaduli-Santalpur Road.

Referring to a number of projects in Gujarat stalled due to the Centre’s negative stance on environmental clearance, Mrs. Patel suggested that permission for environmental clearances should be rested with the regional offices, so also Gujarat’s Clusters Development Projects, besides the Centre paying reasonable crude oil royalty to Gujarat pending past quite sometime.

She also pleaded for ensuring a ‘No Objection Certificate’ from Neyvelli Lignite Corporation for Gujarat to go ahead with the lignite-fired 1,500 MW power plant in south Gujarat and for GMDC to mine bauxite in Gujarat for which as many as ten applications were pending with the Centre.

Mrs. Patel urged the Prime Minister to grant AIIMS Hospital Complex and a Cotton Research Centre of Excellence in Gujarat, besides an IIIT at Surat.

The Prime Minister said he would look early into the Gujarat’s’ problems pending with the Centre.