‘Wish to see Khattar as CM again’
Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Krishan Pal Gurjar says that the state government has set new standards of development and governance. He claims that the government has taken several unprecedented measures and plugged loopholes that promoted corruption in public places to ensure equal development and transparency. The state and Union governments have displayed a mature mindset by providing basic amenities and infrastructure and ensuring job creation through skill development and efficient delivery of services to common people. Excerpts from an interview with Bijendra Ahlawat…
How do you rate the performance of the first BJP government in Haryana in the past four years?
I think that the BJP government has come up to the expectations of people. I will like to give full marks to the government for its excellent performance. The implementation of several new measures has brought transparency in governance and also helped in checking rampant corruption. For example, the online transfer system for teachers has worked wonders and a majority of employees are happy as they no longer have to rush to Chandigarh to get transfer orders or look for a middleman to get the job done. Transfers are done online considering the preferences of the applicants at a given time. Another major achievement is that now work is done online in all government offices, especially tehsil offices where hundreds of applications are received every day for the sale or transfer of properties or land. This has put a check on the menace of bribery and delay in service delivery. The third important step of the state government is to abolish the interview system for jobs. Thousands of deserving candidates have benefited from it. The state government has provided 50,000 jobs during its four-year rule while another 1.25 lakh youths have benefited indirectly from the skill development programme. The reduction in power tariffs is seen as a revolutionary decision that has directly benefited 41 lakh consumers. Efforts are being made to ensure 24x7 power supply to 2,600 villages in the state. The opening of 30 women colleges has improved the educational infrastructure. Moreover, the construction of the KGP and KMP expressways has proved how serious the government is about fulfilling the promises made to people.
Do you think the charisma of Narendra Modi is still intact, and what will be the main poll planks in the next Assembly and Lok Sabha elections? Will the BJP return to power in 2019?
I think Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charisma is still working and there is no doubt that he still is the most liked leader in the country. He has a vision for development. The major poll plank of the BJP in the next Lok Sabha elections will be numerous equitable development works that have benefited every section of people. Services and fruits of development are now reaching the end consumer, which, I think, has been possible due to a check on corruption at public places. The principle of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ has been implemented at the ground level. No major charge of corruption or scam has been levelled against us in the state during the past four years. While at the Centre the fight will be for a ‘Majboot PM’ or a ‘Majboor PM’, there is no challenge to the BJP in Haryana. The party will win more than 60 seats in the Assembly elections in the state though there is an opportunistic alliance between the INLD and the BSP this time. The claims of the revival of the Congress are hollow as the party is divided into several factions.
As you are one of the senior most leaders of the party in Haryana, do you aspire to become Chief Minister? Do you regret that a relatively inexperienced leader was made Chief Minister after the last elections?
I am a dedicated party worker and I have no regret about not getting any post in the party or in the government. I am not in the race for the Chief Minister's post either if the party again forms the government in the state. However, I will do any job that the party assigns me at any time. The Haryana Government has been working fine as Chief Minister Manohar Lal is an honest person with a vision for development and transparency. I want him to be the Chief Minister again, so that the development pace in the state is maintained. The party believes in providing a level-playing field to all its workers and leaders, and the most important thing is that there is no dynastic rule, as in other political parties.
What are your major achievements as an MP and the Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment?
As a Union Minister of State I got sanctioned a hospital for differently abled persons in Haryana. The Chief Minister had laid the foundation stone of an associate unit of the Artificial Limb Manufacturing Corporation of India at Newada village in Faridabad district on June 16 this year. The work on the Rs 25-crore project will start this year. Besides, equipment such as cochlear implant and motorised tri-cycles worth several crores of rupees have been provided to differently abled persons in the past couple of years. The Department of Social Justice has also been giving scholarships to candidates belonging to the SC, ST, BC and OBC categories. As an MP, I have spent Rs 20 crore on various development works in my Faridabad constituency in the past four and a half years. Another Rs 5 crore will be released by October end. The funds have been spent on the creation of basic infrastructure, including community centres, concrete roads, parks, school buildings and libraries. I have ensured the construction of 12 new flyovers which were not part of the project of widening of the National Highway No. 2 that passes through Faridabad and Palwal districts and other roads in the region. The construction of a bridge over the Yamuna to connect Faridabad with Greater Noida and several new bridges over the Agra and Gurugram canals for better connectivity in the city are among my main achievements. Local people have appreciated the opening of a Regional Passport Office at Faridabad and sanctioning of Rs 500 crore for the renovation of a bypass, re-designated as a highway.
How do you think that the Smart City project will help Faridabad?
The Smart City project is one of the best achievements of the BJP government. It will not only help Faridabad, which was forgotten during the rule of previous governments, to regain its status as a top-class city, but will also speed up development in the region. Though its budget is Rs 2,601 crore for five years, the involvement of people and the private sector will make the exercise of giving a makeover to the city a continuous process. Moreover, the decision to replace the present development agencies with the Faridabad Metropolitan Development Authority will usher in a new era of development in the city that has a population of 20 lakh. It is perhaps for the first time that the state government has sanctioned a budget of Rs 1,200 crore for development works, as announced by the Chief Minister, in the city that had been neglected by the previous governments. The government has allocated Rs 288 crore for the Ranney well water scheme in Faridabad and Palwal districts, and Rs 260 crore under the Centre-sponsored AMRUT scheme for Faridabad district. About Rs 242 crore is being spent on laying a sewerage in Faridabad and Palwal districts.
Faridabad is infamous for active land mafia and encroachments. Have you been able to curb these malpractices?
I admit that encroachments and land grabbing had been rampant in Faridabad. To curb these malpractices, the government has brought a new regulation under which a builder or a developer, who has five acres, can carve out small-size plots for people who cannot afford costly plots, flats or houses. The availability of this option will check the tendency to encroach upon lands belonging to others or illegal plotting. The Town and Country Planning Department has been demolishing several constructions every month. The Affordable Housing Scheme launched by the Union Government is also aimed at providing low cost housing to thousands of residents who cannot buy costly properties.
Despite tall claims of cleanliness and the Smart City project, sanitary conditions in Faridabad city have not improved; why?
It is not so. Overall cleanliness in Faridabad city and other parts of the state has improved drastically. Haryana has been awarded the top prize in this regard. We have made the rural areas of the state open defecation free and kerosene free. Cleanliness in Faridabad city is set to improve further, as the government has outsourced the garbage lifting work to a private company. This will help the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad to focus only on cleanliness for which 4,000 workers have been engaged. More machinery and employees will be provided, if required. However, the work is still to be done to make Faridabad city (urban areas) open defecation free as there are many slum clusters with inadequate civic amenities. The regularisation of 67 unauthorised colonies by the state government recently will pave the way for countering the problem. The Ashiana housing scheme has also been launched to shift residents of slums and shanties in near future.
You are accused of promoting family politics, and your son, who is Deputy Mayor of Faridabad, is seen as a candidate for the next state Assembly elections?
It is absolutely wrong to say so. I am not promoting any of my family members. If my son has the ability or capability, he will emerge as a leader on his own hard work. He will not be forced on the party or workers. However, it is normal for a son to follow in his parents’ footsteps in the choice of career, but in politics it should be decided by people whether one deserves it or not. I will not ask or request any leader for a ticket for my son in the next Assembly elections.
