Jamnagar, 25 May 2013

Addressing the farmers at Krushi Mahotsav function in Jamjodhpur today morning, Gujarat Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modi said that instead of putting advertisements in newspapers, the government in Delhi should give money to the farmers for crop insurance.

Modi asked Gujarat Congress leaders to take up this issue with centre. He said the state govt has made provision of around Rs 1100 crore i budget. Five months have passed, 10 letters are sent to the centre, money is ready and we have asked centre to do whatever needed to be done, but they are not doing it.

“Who knows what they did with 2G and coal, they might have done the same on crop insurance also?” Modi asked.

Modi said Congress will be punished by people with white wash in bypolls in Porbandar, jetput, Dhoraji, Limbdi, Banaskantha and Morva Hadaf.

He said people have given Congress party fitting answer, and more they abuse, they shall get stronger answer, but they are still neither willing to learn nor improve. There can be no greater misfortune.

Modi criticized Congress for playing politics over drought and said the state govt took quick decision of giving 50% relief in power bills which was not a small decision.

He said Sardar Sarovar project could be completed spending Rs 5000 crore but today even after spending Rs 50,000 crores, still lot has to be done. The central government in Delhi and Gujarat Congress leaders don’t want Modi to get credit, and therefore they are not giving node.

“I want to tell them that please give permission to install gates over Sardar Sarovar dam as soon as possible. I will put your name everywhere and photos of your leaders too, but please give water to farmers of Gujarat. I met the PM dozen times and told him that gates are needed to be installed. There are 40 gates and each has a size matching to six storey building. The installation work will take 2.5-3 years time even if we start it today. I asked him that at least the work should be allowed to start, but PM doesn’t understand this. I tried to explain him and he replied that my point is valid, and gates should be installed, but when I go again and tell the same, he asks, has it not happened till now? Maharashtra has Congress govt, MP has BJP govt, all have completed their works, Gujarat too has completed its R&R works, but still the work is not permitted, and therefore there’s anger,” Modi said.

Modi said he met a progressive farmer who is doctor, but he enjoys farming and works hard. He said most of the progressive farmers he met were around 35. The youth of Gujarat is excelling in farming. Modi said he visited Junagadh agriculture university, and he thought most of the farmers would be oldd, but he found most of them were wearing jeans and around 30 years.

Official release

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi today publicly announced his readiness to give entire credit to friends in the Congress party if they could get the Central Government’s permission to raise the height of the Sardar Sarovar Project (SSP) dam on River Narmada from 121 to138 metres.

The construction of the dam is stuck at the height of 121 metres, even after all the partner states of the interstate multipurpose river valley project has completed the rehabilitation of project affected persons three years back.

Addressing a huge rally of farmers and cattle owners at 9th statewide Krishi Mahotsav and Cattle Health Camp from seven districts of the Saurashtra region at Jamjodhpur, he squarely accused the Centre of deliberately delaying the permission to place sluice gates at the dam just to deny Gujarat the right to use the surplus rainwater, now flowing down the river into the Arabian Sea. No other legality is pending in the case, except the illegality of the Centre’s political vendetta against Gujarat.

Similarly, Mr. Modi said, the Centre has held back Rs.1,039-crore crop insurance payment to Gujarat farmers for the damage to crops due to drought during the last year. He said that Gujarat Government has exempted 50 percent of electricity bills and offered to give loan up to Rs.3-lakh to the affected farmers, but the Centre is hell-bent to harass Gujarat farmers.

He cited another instance as to how revival of five dairy plants in the Saurashtra region, long neglected during the Congress rule, helped increase milk production.

The Chief Minister wished the Centre should learn from Gujarat in bringing about a revolution of sorts in agriculture due to the state government’s relentless efforts to reach out to the farmers, virtually at their farm gates, during the Krishi Mahotsava running for the ninth consecutive year.

In this unique lab-to-land initiative, nearly one lakh of government employees, besides 800 agricultural scientists and veterinary doctors from four farm varsities, brave the scorching sun during the fortnight to cover as many villages as possible.

Mr. Modi presented mobile technology application gadgets to farmers on the occasion. He honoured the State Government’s Sardar Krishi Purashkar to the progressive farmers of the region and distributed assistance to beneficiaries of Mission Mangalam Yojna. A cheque of Rs.40.50-lakh collected from Jamnagar district alone was handed over to the Minister’s Kanya Kelavni Nidhi for the cause of girl children’s education.

Minister of State for Education Women and Children Welfare Vasuben Trivedi spoke about Jamnagar farmers’ shift to horticulture and floriculture from traditional crops.

Minister of State for Agriculture Govindbhai Patel praised the farsightedness of Chief Minister which helped Gujarat farmers earn more than the national average even during drought condition.

Prominent among those present on the occasion included Agriculture Minister Babubhai Bokhiria, State Goseva Ayog Chairman Vallabh Kathiria, BJP State President R C Faldu, General Secretary Bhikhu Dalsania, MLAs Chiman Saparia, Punamben Madam, Pabubha Manek, Meghji Chavda, ex-Minister Mulu Bera, District Panchyat President Dr Vasoya, Jamnagar Mayor Amiben Parikh, Guardian Secretary Haribhai Patel, District Collector Nalin Upadhyay and DDO Vijay Kharadi.