By Anil Sharma, IANS,
Jaipur : Free medicines for all, power surplus by 2013-14, long-term solutions for water and a metro system for the state capital… Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot says his government is simultaneously working on all sectors to further its commitment to the welfare of the people.
In a major healthcare move, the government will provide free medicines at government hospitals to all sections of society, Gehlot said in a freewheeling interview to IANS covering a wide range of topics.
The project, which will cover every one below and above the poverty line categories who register for treatment at government hospitals, will be launched Oct 2.
“However, if we are able to complete all the modalities, we may introduce it even earlier,” Gehlot told IANS.
“We are committed to the welfare of the people in every section of society. Our effort is to provide a transparent government with sensitivity towards the poor and weaker sections.”
Detailing other welfare schemes, he said a housing policy had been launched to provide 500,000 houses to the economically weaker sections (EWS) and the low income group (LIG) in the next five years.
There have also been steps taken to improve infrastructure, especially in the electricity and water sectors, the chief minister said.
The government, he said, is committed to making Rajasthan a power surplus state by 2013-14. Projects involving more than 10,000 MW of power are under implementation at various stages.
At present, the total power capacity is 9,053 MW and the current deficit is 10-15 percent depending upon the season.
“We have adopted a transparent and inclusive process of assessment of water and electricity in the state,” Gehlot said, agreeing that water remained the most critical issue for the desert state, which is also the country’s largest.
The state covers more than 10.4 percent of India’s geographical area and supports over 5.5 percent of its population apart from 18.70 percent of livestock. However, it has only 1.16 percent of the total surface water available in the country.
The state government is in favour of long-term solutions for which sincere efforts are being made, the chief minister said.
“Providing drinking water is the most important challenge and concern for the government. We have to deal with the difficult geography of the state and recurring drought.”
Gehlot also talked about his plans for the capital city.
“We want to make Jaipur a world class city. We already have started work on metro rail. An air-conditioned city bus service has been launched and many more development works, including the ring road project, are in the planning process,” he said.
The chief minister sounded optimistic about setting up a refinery in the state.
“It was a big step in the direction of setting up of a refinery when the state government in February this year signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) for marketing refined petroleum products of Rajasthan Refinery,” Gehlot said.
As per the MoU, when the Rajasthan Refinery comes up, the BPCL will lift minimum 75 percent of the product volume of the total marketable refined petroleum products.
The MoU was signed following the S.C. Tripathi Committee report of the state government that recommended setting up a refinery in Barmer to utilise hydrocarbon resources.
Gehlot also took on the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for its allegations on favouritism and corruption.
“If any charge of favouritism to my family is been proved right, I will not remain as chief minister for even a second,” the chief minister added.
The BJP has accused the Gehlot government of awarding heavy infrastructure works and hotel building contracts to firms that had employed his son, Vaibhav Gehlot, as a legal consultant. Allegations have also been levelled against Gehlot for helping his daughter and son-in-law.
Rubbishing reports that his government favoured the firm where his son works as a legal consultant, the chief minister claimed that if a particular company received contracts over Rs.112 crore during his previous government, it had received contracts over Rs.400 crore during the previous BJP government through tenders.
(Anil Sharma can be contacted at [email protected])