Vadodara, Monday: Chief Minister Narendra Modi reaffirmed his resolve to serve all cross-sections of the people taking everybody along overcoming all obstacles on the way to ensure the state's growth story reverberates around the globe through slogans like ‘Jai Jai Garvi Gujarat'.
He said that earlier rulers did not know what is meant by development in Local Self-Government institutions, which was besieged with favoritism. Before 2001, they had no idea of who are ‘urban poor', unable to prepare plans for the latter. The present government has built and allocated 1.25-lakh permanent residential units to the urban poor and is building another 60,000 units. The government has trained 1.25-lakh urban youth from poor families in various trades, as 129 of them got jobs abroad.
Mr. Modi was speaking at a function in Vadodara yesterday to mark the inauguration two railway flyovers at the Jetalpur-Swami Vivekanand and the new Field Marshal Manekshaw Yard built at cost of Rs.40.70-crore under Urban Development Golden Jubilee Plan. He also laid the foundation stone of three other over bridges at Amitnagar-Urmi School, Sama and Harinagar-Gotri, besides an overhead water tank at Sayajipur, involving an expenditure of Rs.140-crore.
He said that some development work or the other is taking place around every 25 km in the state and funds are also coming. It has been made possible only because I am sitting tight on the government treasury, not allowing anyone steal to their discomfiture. In the field of agriculture too, he said, Gujarat has brought 8-lakh ha of additional land under cultivation.
Urban Development Minister Nitinbhai Patel said that Gujarat Government has allotted Rs.7,000-crore under Golden Jubilee Urban Development Plan, in addition to Rs.700-crore budget. He complimented the people of Vadodara for funds allotted from Rs.200-crore development plans.
Mahanagar Seva Sadan Mayor Dr. Jyoti Pandya gave details about the development works in the welcome address at the function.
Prominent among those present on the occasion included Minister of State for Tourism Jitendrabhai Sukhadia, MP Balkrishna Shukla, Parliamentary Secretary Yogeshbhai Patel, MLAs Bhupendrabhai Kalhawala, Upendrasinhji Gohil, VUDA Chairman Naranbhai Patel, Bharatbhai Dangar, Deputy Mayor Arvindbhai Patel, Shabdasharan Brahmbhat, India's first women photographer Homaiji Vyarawala, Seva Sadan Commissioner Ashwini Kumar, DRM A.K. Shrivastava, Collector Vinod Rao, DDO Rakesh Shankar and a large number of people.
