* Warns that metros have become fashionable but cost a bomb
* JICA says no to Funding
BHOPAL: In what may be a dampener for Madhya Pradesh government’s much-touted scheme of launching Metro trains in Indore and Bhopal, Union minister for urban development Venkaiah Naidu told an official workshop here on Monday that the state government should resubmit its proposals regarding metro projects in both the cities. In an oblique warning, he also said that ‘Metro projects have become fashionable but it should be understood that are prohibitively expensive”.
The metro projects of the state are already in limbo following the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) refusing funding of the Bhopal project. As for Indore, the JICA is yet to undertake even a preliminary study of the project. The state government is now mulling obtaining finances from other sources including ADB. UAD Commissioner Vivek Agarwal confirmed to newspersons on Saturday that JICA has declined to fund the project.
Referring to Prime Minister’s Reform, Perform and Transform mantra, Naidu stressed on designing urban development schemes keeping in view the needs of coming ten years. He said that urban development is possible only with the participation of people.
He appreciated the good work done in waste-to-energy projects in Jabalpur and Indore.
Naidu said that tremendous work has been done in infrastructure development in the state and its agriculture growth rate remains above 20 percent over the past four years.
Addressing the meet, the Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that the Nagroday campaign would be launched in the state from December 25th to 25th January enlisting greater public participation. Urban developmental projects will be completed in a mission mode. Chouhan said that the urban Madhya Pradesh would become open defecation free by December 2017.
Similarly, Rs. 1400 crore would be spent on urban drinking water schemes in the first phase and Rs. 500 crore in the second phase. In the first phase of Chief Minister’s Urban Infrastructure Development scheme, Rs. 500 crore has been spent and in the second phase Rs. 1800 crore more would be spent. Madhya Pradesh would become a pioneering state in respect of urban development.
Shahganj is first ODF municipality in state
Naidu gave certificate of appreciation to Shahganj municipality for being Open Defecation Free. This is the first municipality declared as open defecation free in the state. The president of Municipality Bhaiyalal Gaud and Chief Municipality Officer Ramanuj Mishra received the certificate.
Good leaders take far-reaching decisions: CM
During the course of his speech at the meet, Chouhan, without taking any names, sought to complement what the BJP general secretary Kailash Vijaygarhiya had said about good leaders a couple of days back. Chouhan said that good leaders do not take populist decisions but decisions of far-reaching impact. Vijayvargiya, in what was seen as an attempt to put the Chouhan government in the dock, had said that “Bold politicians do not take populist decisions; they take decisions in public interest”.
