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    People are leaving Congress because its leadership is weak: Vijay Rupani

    Synopsis

    Gujarat is No. 1 in creating jobs, this figure comes from the employment exchange and is not just a claim, says Gujarat CM.

    vijay-rupani-BCCL
    Vijay Rupani
    In the middle of his second stint as chief minister of Gujarat, Vijay Rupani sounds confident of making water scarcity a thing of the past and of increasing the BJP’s membership by 50% in the state. In an interview with ET in Gandhinagar, Rupani talks about the health sector, the conversion rate of MoUs in Vibrant Gujarat and the recent ly amended Disturbed Areas Act. Edited excerpts

    Alpesh Thakor has joined the BJP from Congress, saying he isn’t comfortable there. How do you respond to allegations that the BJP forced his hand?
    That is not true. People are abandoning the Congress because its leadership is weak. The Congress is a sinking ship, hence people are looking for safer havens to secure their future. People are leaving the Congress voluntarily. We played no role in this.
    1
    Alpesh Thakor
    According to the recently amended Disturbed Areas Act, a district magistrate or DM has been given greater powers to decide whether one can buy or sell properties in ‘disturbed areas’.
    This is meant only for certain riot-affected areas such as Juapura, Kalupur and Dariyapur in Ahmedabad, two-three areas in Vadodara where there is tension sometimes during Ganapati utsav, and some locations in Surat and Godhra, among others.

    A Hindu family may not want to settle down in certain areas. If one family is running away, then others too are forced to relocate. Now one has to take the DM’s permission before buying or selling property in these areas.

    What are the parameters the DM will look into?

    The DM will have to ensure that the communal harmony of the place does not get disturbed because of the deal. A Hindu selling property to a Muslim is not okay. A Muslim selling property to a Hindu is also not okay.

    So a Hindu can sell property only to a Hindu?

    This is not a problem. We have set this rule in areas where there have been riots to tell them (Muslims) that they must buy property in their own areas.

    3

    What about representation of Muslims from the state in the Lok Sabha? No Muslim MP has been elected in Gujarat after 1984. The BJP has not even fielded a Muslim candidate.
    Amit Shah has repeatedly said that we do not follow the politics of appeasement. Muslims must prove themselves to get a chance to become MPs. Unlike the Congress we do not select candidates based on religion.

    Political parties try to give representation to almost every section of the society. Why this alienation of Muslims by the BJP?

    I can’t talk about other parties. Take my own example. I come from the Rupani-Jain community. We represent a minuscule proportion of the population [ Jains are 0.96% of the state population, according to the 2011 Census]. Does that mean the party should not have given me a chance? My party gave me a chance because I have worked for 40 years for it; I even went to jail during the Emergency. Our leaders might have seen the potential somewhere and not because I am a Jain.

    The BJP has launched a nationwide membership drive. What target has the Gujarat BJP set for itself?

    Against the national target of increasing party membership by 20%, Gujarat has set a target of 50%. At the booth level, the Yuva Morcha (youth wing) is visiting schools and colleges while the Mahila Morcha (women’s wing) is going to homes and malls. Bus stops, markets — every avenue is being tapped. I myself kicked off the campaign by giving membership to eminent personalities.

    Recently Home Minister Amit Shah said the Kashmir situation would have been different had Jawaharlal Nehru let the then home minister Vallabhbhai Patel handle it.

    He was right. Nehru made a big mistake by giving special status to Kashmir. It’s because of this that the Kashmir issue remains unresolved. Using saam-daam-bhed-dand (all possible means), the Sardar (Patel) dealt with Junagarh and Hyderabad in such a way that the principalities merged with Bharat; the nizams and nawabs were forced to run away. Nehru should have let Sardar handle Kashmir as well. It was Nehru’s mistake. The whole country feels this way. Because of his fault, Kashmir is suffering and there’s loss of lives and money.

    The Centre has announced Nal se Jal scheme to provide piped drinking water to every household. Facing water scarcity in half the state, how will Gujarat align itself with the national objective?
    Gujarat is No. 1 in water distribution. Roughly 74% homes are already covered under Nal se Jal. Taking forward the prime minister’s appeal for water conservation, we have focused on five issues in our budget: water, solar power, environment, rozi-roti-rozgar and farmers’ income. Gujarat is a waterdeficit state. Half of Gujarat — south and central — is water surplus. Kutch and Saurashtra are parched. To tackle this, we are increasing water sources. One big source of water is dam. The PM has completed the Sardar Sarovar Dam. We have increased the canal network of the dam and now water is being supplied to places even 550 km away. In addition, we plan to take advantage of our 1,600 km shoreline. There is a Gujarati saying: Dariyanu pani koi dee khoote nahi (sea water will never get over). So, desalination plants to make seawater usable are being set up. We have already completed tenders of eight such plants. In total, we are setting up 170 sewage treatment plants covering 162 municipalities and eight metros. This water will not be potable but can be used for industial, farming and construction activities. After two years peene ke pani ka akal bhoot kal ho jayega (In two years, water scarcity will be a thing of the past in Gujarat).

    2
    Site of Sardar Sarovar Dam Yojana and Statue of Unity at Kevadia colony in Gujarat.

    In Vibrant Gujarat, what is the conversion ratio of MoUs to actual investment?
    We have the exact figures for companies and investments. In mid-January 2019, I announced that projects worth Rs 1,11,000 crore will be inaugurated. This has actually happened.

    What is the conversion rate?
    MoUs show intention. 100% conversion is not possible. If I want to buy a 2BHK flat, I will visit 15-20 houses. It may so happen that I may like one but my partner may not. Then there will be negotiations on price. Loan sanctioning will take time. Actual possession will happen much later. So a simple, Rs 30 lakh flat takes more than two years, and here we are talking about industrialists investing multiple crores of rupees. Sometimes the government policy may change in the meantime on which they will have no control. We have 65% conversion rate, in general.

    According to NITI Aayog’s recent Health Index report, Gujarat figures among states that have ‘not shown improvement’. What are the reasons for such poor show?
    I do not know how they evaluate states but we have done a lot in healthcare. When Narendra Modiji was the chief minister of Gujarat, he had launched the Mukhyamantri Amrutum Yojana which is like Ayushman Bharat Yojana. Some 30 lakh families are covered under Ayushman Yojana. We have added 5,000 medical college seats. Some 20 years back, there were only 900. In kidney transplant, heart surgery, organ transplant and cancer treatment, we have done a lot. Gujarat is the biggest pharmaceutical manufacturing state. Now we are going to promote medical tourism. We conduct regular checkups for 1.5 crore schoolchildren. Later, the state government bears the entire cost of the treatment required. We have been doing this for many years.

    What about employment generation? Joblessness is a big issue in Gujarat. Youth complain of not getting a job.
    Gujarat is No. 1 in creating jobs. This figure comes from the employment exchange and is not just a claim. This has been so for the last 15 years. In the past two years, we have offered 1.25 lakh government jobs. Through projects set up via Vibrant Gujarat, we were creating jobs not just in the manufacturing sector but also in the services sector. The starting salary is Rs 15,000. A lot of job-oriented courses have been introduced. Through the Mudra scheme of the Central government, we have given crores of rupees for promoting entrepreneurship among the youth.

    Two months back, 20 students in Surat were killed when a coaching centre caught fire. What has the government done to increase safety compliance?
    There are clear-cut guidelines. This particular incident occured because of two reasons: illegal construction of dome on the fourth floor of the coaching centre and blocking the exit area to accommodate more students in the class. Commissioners have sealed properties where norms were being flouted; owners have been told to first take NoCs (no-objection certificate) to resume classes. All have fallen in line. It’s not just coaching centres; we are taking strict action against hotels, malls, schools and colleges that flout rules.

    Why is Gujarat dragging its feet on the translocation of some Gir lions to the Kuno-Palpur wildlife sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh? The shift will avert the extinction of lions in case of an epidemic in Gir.
    Why will they get wiped out? We are taking good care of our lions. We have a separate Rs 200 crore package for their conservation and care. They are being monitored using radio collars and drones. When 25 lions died last year due to a virus, we got medicine from Atlanta, US, and got them immunised immediately. Gir forest is huge. Now we are adding Shetrunjay division to the sanctuary to give more area to the animal. We have 600-700 lions and there is no problem at this point.

    But the Supreme Court has set a deadline of six months for the relocation. Will it happen?
    There is no need to relocate lions from Gir. Gujarat is capable of taking care of its lions.


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