Narendra Modi on hectic campaign tour for panchayat polls

The BJP after its huge victory in the six municipal corporations in the state, is once again solely depending on chief minister Narendra Modi to help it sail through the panchayat polls scheduled on October 21.

In the last five days, Modi has addressed 19 meetings in north and central Gujarat. His campaign schedule covers most of the 24 districts which are going to the polls. Of the 24, Congress rules in only 6 district panchayats.

Modi is not only focusing on the issue of development but also talking about Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, Sohrabuddin fake encounter case and corruption in the Commonwealth Games. Sources said ever since the party high command decided to keep Modi out of campaign for Bihar polls, the chief minister is keeping himself busy with the state elections.

Sources said during the municipal corporation elections, he addressed not less then three meetings daily between October 1 to October 9.

At his public meetings in Dohad, Godhra, Dabhoi, Vyara and other places in central and south Gujarat, Modi focused on issues related to misuse of central funds among others. He also talks of anti-farmer policy of the central government which is forcing farmers to commit suicide in other parts of the country.

Modi has addressed meetings in north Gujarat, central Gujarat, Saurashtra and south Gujarat. He also makes reference to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi’s statement that "When the centre sends Re 1 for a village, only 10 paise actually reaches the grass root."

In his campaign he also talks about the injustice being meted to the state in terms of revenue sharing. He says, "central government collects a revenue of Rs 50,000 crore from Gujarat, which is tax payers’ money and not the property of Congress government. However, when it comes to sharing of this money, the centre allocates funds as if it was doing some favour to the state."

Follow Guj path to road reform: World Bank (WB)

A latest World Bank (WB) study says exemplary reforms in Gujarat’s highway sector should be replicated by Indian states to establish an "enabling framework" for creating "efficient governance".

Titled "Good Governance in Highway Sector: Learning from Gujarat", the 60-page, yet-to-be-published report is based on the implementation of the World Bankfunded Gujarat State Highway Project (GSHP) during the 2001-07 period. The project was implemented by the state roads and buildings ((R&B) department.

Identifying private sector involvement as a crucial factor in shaping the reforms, the bank points out how the R&B department, under principal secretary SS Rathore, a technocrat, switched "from the role of provider to manager of road infrastructure".

This enabled the department to embrace a whole-of-network approach to planning and management of road network development and maintenance, and to take a more integrated approach in the budgeting and funding process, the study says.

As a result, GSHP "was implemented with a significant cost reduction (about 23%)", even as improving "the network to meet the rapidly growing transport demand in the state".

The bank stresses that: "The GSHP had the unique distinction of no contract disputes, a rarity among highway development projects in India", even as it set best practices in "developing and managing a very comprehensive asset management system, state-of-the-art quality assurance framework and a very comprehensive training and capacity building programme".

Noting that the current planned road network size in Gujarat of 74,111 km is among the highest in terms of network density per sq km in India, the report says, it is also "among the best managed networks".

Investment in new roads in Gujarat increased six times compared to the pre-reforms times, with the state paying more attention to maintenance "than any other state". It spent $884, 15% more than the second highest spending state, Kerala. As a result, the maintenance backlog has been reduced from 10,000 km to 5,000 km, including the 1,800 km reduction spurred by the GSHP.

"Gujarat is one of the first states to develop a strategic or core road network by applying the 80/20 rule, i.e. 80% of the traffic is carried by 20% of the road network," says the report. First formulated during the GSHP, the concept was used during the development later, the bank says. However, it adds that the concept may go a long way in implementing the chief minister’s "vision" of travelling by road in the state between any two locations within six to seven hours at 80 km per hour.

Think big to give city unique national image: Narendra Modi to new councilors

Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Monday urged the new elected members of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation to think big in order to give the city a unique national image in the near future.

Inaugurating a three-day induction programme at the Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration, Modi said that instead of worrying about their fate in the next election, they should chart out development plans with clarity of vision. Lack of clarity would only inspire the administration to misuse the situation, he added.

For example, they could go for a “zero-slum city” programme, he said, adding that only a selfless attitude of ensuring public satisfaction, and not welfare of self, will guarantee a hands-down victory in the next elections.

Calling the 192 councillors “team Ahmedabad”, he said they all must think and work in perfect harmony and win over hearts of people cutting across party lines. He told the councillors to visit wards of their counterparts to learn things worth emulating instead of comparing perks of power with others.

He suggested to form a body of intellectuals who could hold monthly meetings with the mayor to deliberate upon new ideas for the betterment of the city, “which cannot afford intellectual poverty”.

Mayor Asit Vora and Anvil Baijal, former secretary (urban development), Government of India, were among those present at the programmers.