PM launches country’s first river linking project on Vajpayee's brith centenary

The multi-purpose project is billed as the country’s first river interlinking project. The river linking plan was an idea of former PM Mr Vajpayee whose birth anniversary is observed as ‘Good governance day’

Reflecting on the late PM Mr Vajpayee’s rich legacy on his 100^th birthday, Mr Modi said that the former PM laid emphasis on good governance to ensure development of the country.

Mr Modi said that BJP has been re-elected at the Centre for the third time and has been in power in Madhya Pradesh for the many years as the party has gained trust of the people due to the good governance provided by the BJP governments.

“Good governance is not a day’s affair for us. Good governance has become the identity of BJP governments”, he said.

But Congress which ruled at the Centre and in the states for quite a long period had chosen to shun good governance.

Congress had delayed critical developmental projects for decades and failed to deliver effective governance, he said.

“Congress and good governance cannot go together. Congress believed governance is its birthright, but never delivered”, he added.

Describing Dr Baba Saheb Ambedkar as the first leader in the country who laid emphasis on water conservation and was instrumental in shaping India’s water conservation policies, Mr Modi said that the Central Water Commission existed today because of the leader.

“But Congress never gave him credit”, Mr Modi lamented.

He said that the previous Congress governments made announcements but the benefits did not reach the people due to a lack of intent and seriousness in implementation.

Mr Modi exhorted the intellectuals, academicians and political analysts to evaluate the country after having completed 75 years of independence on the parameters of development, public welfare and good governance.

“If we are evaluated on certain parameters, the country will see how dedicated we are towards the common people”, he said.

Good governance requires not only good schemes but also their effective implementation. The measure of good governance is the extent to which the government schemes benefit the people.

“Good governance means that the citizens should not have to beg the government for their rights or run around the government offices. Our policy is to connect 100 percent of beneficiaries with 100 percent benefits, which sets our governments apart from others. That is why the people repeatedly give us the opportunity to serve”, he said.

He attributed the current water problem in Bundelkhand to the failure of the previous Congress governments to find a permanent solution to the problem and said that the Ken-Betwa river linking project would change the lives of people in the region, bringing prosperity for them.

The project would provide irrigation facilities to ten districts in Madhya Pradesh and four districts in Uttar Pradesh.

Madhya Pradesh has become the first state in the country to initiate two projects under the grand campaign of river linking, he said.

The Parbati-Kalisindh-Chambal river linking project was launched by the PM at Jaipur in Rajasthan last week.

The project will benefit Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Mr Modi said that the past decade would be remembered in the history of India as an unprecedented decade of water security and conservation and added that the previous governments had divided water-related responsibilities among different departments, but it was his government which created the Ministry of Jal Shakti to address the issue.

For the first time, a national mission was launched to provide tap water to every household, he said.

In the seven decades after independence, only three crore rural families had tap connections. But in the past five years, tap water was provided to 12 crore people at an estimated expenditure of Rs 3.5 lakh crore.

Mr Modi also laid foundation stone of 1153 ‘Atal Gram Sushasan’ (panchayat) buildings and dedicated to the nation the first phase of Omkareshwar floating solar power project in Khandwa district in Madhya Pradesh on the occasion.

He also released the commemorative postal stamp and Rs 100 coin on the occasion of late PM Vajpayee’s 100^th birth anniversary.