Ahmedabad

In a major announcement, Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel today said installation of Narmada dam gates will be completed in March next year (before monsoon) instead of scheduled target of September, and closure of gates will be possible soon after that as PM has instructed two states(Maharashtra an Madhya Pradesh) to complete the rehabilitation task by November this year. There will be more water storage in dam therefore which will solve the issue of water scarcity, she said.

The Chief Minister in her speech at Sabarmati River Front event ground in Ahmedabad on completion of two years of Narendra Modi government in centre said, “Congress people are talking about water scarcity. I want to ask them that if you had given permission to install gates over Narmada dam in year 2008, then by 2010 installation of gates could be complete and if then after we had got permission to close the gates, today no village in Gujarat could face the issue of water scarcity.”

She continued, “Narendrabhai went to Delhi and we got permission to install gates over Narmada dam on 17th day.We were to complete the installation work of gates in 2017 September but we are going to complete the task 6 months earlier in March 2017.”

Making a major announcement she said in continuance, “and if we get immediate permission to close the gates – and I am very sure that we will get that permission from the centre – because as soon as I made representation before Narendrabhai and told him that we are going to complete installation of gates by March 2017, he called meeting of three states and issued directive to them that by November 2016 both states will have to complete the task of rehabilitation and then after Gujarat will be given permission to close the gates of Narmada dam by him, and then due to volume of water, there will be no issue of water scarcity across the state.”

Anandiben again slammed opposition Congress party an said, “this Congress is in root of scarcity. It is obvious that Congress can’t see such a major development work. If someone is suffering from jaundice, he would see everything yellow. They didn’t do any development work during their tenure and today when across India when development works are visible, it is obvious that they have pain in their stomach.”

Anandiben in her speech in presence of party’s supreme leader Shri LK Advani also read out a list of figures describing implementation of various central government schemes in Gujarat.

Author’s note: This is a major announcement. It is very well known fact that the central government led by Congress had not given permission to install gates over Narmada dam for years. After Narendrabhai became Prime Minister he gave this permission on 17th day in office. The permission is however only limited to installation of gates. Greater water storage in Narmada dam is only possible if these gates are closed. But before closure of gates, unconcluded rehabilitation works in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh need to complete. As both states are ruled by BJP, the Prime Minister as per Anandiben’s today’s speech has asked them to complete the rehabilitation task by end of this year. If they can do this effectively and properly and if as per the announcement of Chief Minister Gujarat complete the task of installation of gates in March next year, permission to close the gates is likely by monsoon 2017. In that case tremendous volume of added water will be stored in Narmada dam. And this will happen in election year as Gujarat assembly general polls are scheduled to take place in December 2017. Two things need to be ensured properly. One – the rehabilitation and resettlement works should be done in proper and just manner with best possible quality and human approach and two – while speeding the work, installation of gates must be done properly without any possibility of even initial hiccups.

– DeshGujarat