BJP, Congress trade charges on Central aid to Gujarat

By ENN,
Ahmedabad, Oct 14 : Ruling BJP and main opposition Congress have traded charges and counter charges against each other over Central assistance to the BJP-ruled Gujarat, with Congress alleging that the Narendra Modi government was presenting various Central-aided schemes as if it was his own project.

The allegations and counter allegations were made on the eve of launching of the Central-aided Bus Rapid Transit System (BRTS) bus service under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission with Central share of 75 per cent.

Leader of opposition in the Assembly Shaktisinh Gohil claimed the Centre had provided Rs 26.95 crore for the first phase of BRTS project on 12.5 km route, while the state's contribution was only Rs 11.55 crore. The Centre provided another Rs 87.5 crore for its second phase.

Mr Gohil said the Centre had provided Rs 2,497.69 crore for various projects under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) in Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot and Vadodara. He alleged the state government was wasting Central assistance and cited an instance of spending Rs five crore allotted under Women and Child Development Scheme for the Chief Minister's public functions alone.

On the other hand, Health Minister and government spokesman Jay Narayan Vyas countered the Congress claim saying the Centre was depriving Gujarat of its due share from Central taxes.

The UPA Government had allotted only Rs 29,940 crore to the state out of Central taxes totalling Rs 1,75,583 crore collected from the state, he said, adding the Centre was discriminating by not declaring Sardar Sarovar project on the Narmada river as a national project as the Centre was bound to provide 90 per cent assistance for any national project.

Mr Vyas said the state was also deprived of Rs 1,500 crore collected for the rehabilitation of earthquake victims. The state's due share of Rs 1,500 crore was also denied under the crude oil royalty formula.

''Despite the Centre's discrimination, development of Gujarat was being carried out during the 8-year tenure of Narendra Modi with the state emerging as a development model,'' Mr Vyas added.