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The Rediff Interview/ Keshubhai Patel

'There is no strife between me and the prime minister'

The Opposition is almost absent in Gujarat. The Congress lacks gumption and the desire to capture power once again. Though the ground is bereft of potent adversaries, the Gujarat government is surrounded by controversies. In the last few months, it has been accused of everything -- from being apathetic to being corrupt. The drought has put the government on the defensive. The situation could be cause for concern for any chief minister.

In this interview with Vikram Vakil, Keshubhai Patel, Gujarat's chief minister, reacts to the criticism levelled against his administration.

Your government is being criticised for deploying inefficient drought relief measures. What do you have to say?

There are four instances which are indicative of the people's satisfaction with our administration.

1.The BJP has won a seat in the by-election in Bharuch and that too in a constituency which is considered to be the Congress forte.

2. At the time of the general election, the pundits predicted that the BJP would get four to five seats less, but in fact we got one seat more than the total in the last election.

3. In the by-election to the assembly too the Congress has been defeated in both seats.

4. In the recent election, of the 52 municipal corporations, 44 corporations are held by the BJP. Do you think all this would have been possible if we didn't have the confidence of the people?

Now for the drought. The drought is a natural calamity. It is true that there is water scarcity in certain areas, but we had started planning for that on September 6 last year. I had visited Saurashtra and had planned for the scarcity. I had spent ten hours in each area to prepare for the upcoming situation. We have also taken enough precautions against the scarcity of fodder since December. The pipelines for water were also planned in advance.

We had invited experts from the Netherlands to help us in this respect. Under the Sardar Patel co-operative irrigation project, we had planned to build 20,000 checkdams. I had gone to several villages and had convinced the people that if they were ready to pay 40 per cent of the amount required for this, the government would put in the remaining 60 per cent.

We had spared Rs 1,000 crore on the project. We received some 20,000 applications to make checkdams, out of which we approved 10,000. Till date, 3,000 checkdams are ready and by June this year another 10,000 checkdams will be ready. The target of 20,000 can be achieved within a year. I call this a mission of constructive activity.

Aren't these drought relief activities ridden with rampant corruption?

It is very necessary to keep a check on the weaknesses of human beings. In the past, millions of rupees have been lost thanks to corrupt practices during such relief projects. If the wrongdoers are caught, we always take action against them. Recently, we sacked two corrupt engineers and eight muster clerks. We have formed seven teams to monitor and supervise the relief projects. The teams consist of government officers, representatives from voluntary institutions, MLAs etc. We can't rely on government officials alone.

Do you think that Gujarat is lagging behind in the area of foreign investment and investment in industry?

We rank second in the country in both these respects. Gujarat is at the top when it comes to completing projects as per schedule. The economic depression has affected investments in the whole country. We can be ahead of others for the time being if we gain a huge project; if by chance another state succeeds in getting that project, they will naturally move ahead. But I seriously believe that the welfare of a state does not lie in signing MOUs and agreements. Gujarat is the leading state when it comes to implementation of planned projects.

There is a lot of talk about information technology, but why can't one see any development in the planning of Info City and Science City?

The work on both projects is on but their completion will take at least three-and-a-half years. In the interim, we have constructed an Info Tower. It is located at Sarakhej Road near Ahmedabad and will occupy 60,000 square feet of space. GNFC has undertaken this project. Now the private sector is also going to construct Info Towers in Gujarat.

On the other hand, we need greater connectivity to develop the IT sector. We are discussing the issue with the telecom department. It has been decided to increase connectivity by better and more cable services. The Centre has assigned this project to Reliance. The optic fibre connections are already being fixed.

Computerisation is essential for the development in the IT sector. All over the country the growth rate of computers is 26 per cent, but in Gujarat it is 38 per cent. Moreover, we need people who are trained for the IT industry. 225 branches of (state) technological institutions now offer a special course in IT. Every year around one lakh students will be trained in IT.

Is there any strife between Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and you?

Is it possible at all? These all are rumours spread by negative political powers. Just last week we spent half-an-hour together. There has to be some cause for any discord to arise. Those who have spread such stories should know well that their illusions do not hold any truth and that they are not going to succeed.

Allegations of corruption have been made against Finance Minister Vajubhai Vala. One alleged charge is regarding his firm supplying imported coal to GNFC and his alleged land dealings in Rajkot.

These are all lies. Anyone can demand an inquiry into the corruption charges by merely paying Rs 1,000 in the Lokayukta which is an independent institution. He can be sued in court. Why should people talk about his conduct? All these are attempts to harm his reputation.

Minister for Cultural Affairs Mahendra Trivedi was on a hunger strike on the issue of drought relief activity and Vajubhai Vala's conduct. A minister on hunger strike against his own government. Don't you think this is rather strange?

No one has gone on strike. Yet I have asked Sureshbhai Mehta to enquire about this matter. I do not know much about it though.

Your government has been constantly criticised in the national media. Many point fingers at Central Minister Kashiram Rana for this.

The newspaper in question has been writing against me for a long time now. It is not fair to name him, but there is one specific person who continuously writes against me. It is wrong to blame Kashiram for this.

How co-operative are the ministers, officials and the party itself when it comes to implementing your ideas?

Each decision is taken after discussions in the cabinet. Everyone's co-operation is valuable. Yes, the officials are habituated to stick to the five-year plans. They have the set mind frame of spending the money according to a plan whenever the amount is released from Delhi. Though now they too are thinking along new lines. Those who are not interested in development projects are transferred immediately.

The Rediff Interviews

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