'Quadrilateral to save Rs 8000 crore fuel'

The Golden Quadrilateral will lead to Rs 8,000 crore per annum savings on fuel, besides a host of other economic benefits, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.

He was presiding over the inaugural function of Vishwa Gujarati Parivaar Mohatsav, a congregation of non-resident Gujaratis (NRGs) in the state.

A dream project of the prime minister, between Rs 40 crore and Rs 50 crore is being spent per day on the project. The project aims at connecting all four corners of the country with highest quality roads.

The Ahmedabad-Vadodara highway project will form part of the Golden Quadrilateral and a part of the stretch between Ahmedabad and Nadiad is already functional.

Commenting on the Sardar Sarovar dam project, the prime minister assured Gujarat that the central government will provide all necessary assistance increasing the dam height to 110 metres.

The height of the dam at present stands at 100 metres and the states involved - Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra - will have to rehabilitate persons affected by the project, raising the height to 110 metres will provide economic benefits to Gujarat.

Chief minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the prime minister, said that while the Finance Commission has set a target of 10.2 per cent growth rate over the next five years, Gujarat will exceed it.

"In fact, I want to assure you that we will be able to achieve double-digit growth rate within the next one year," Modi said.

While the Finance Commission has set a growth rate of eight per cent for the country, Gujarat has been set a target of 10.2 per cent growth rate. Vajpayee suggested to the chief minister that more and more vocational training institutes be opened in the state.

"If a person does not wish to pursue higher education after matriculation or higher secondary school, he should have options of vocational training. This is what the country needs today," the prime minister commented.

Modi said that with an integrated approach in development and good governance, the state will emerge as one of the most developed in the country over the next few years.

He said that the proposed Gems and Jewellery Park and Apparel Park in Surat and Ahmedabad respectively, will provide a major boost to the gems and clothing market in Gujarat.

While the Surat diamond industry accounts for over 85 per cent of all diamond cutting and polishing done throughout the world, India's share in the value added gems and jewellery market is less than two per cent.

Similarly, while Gujarat is the largest producer of cotton in the country and the spinning and weaving industries are in large numbers, Gujarat contributes little in readymade clothing.

"The apparel park and gems and jewellery park will fill this gap," the chief minister remarked.

The chief minister also sought the opportunity to highlight works completed in the past one year in office, stating that 1,400 km water pipelines for taking Narmada canal water to the hinterland have been laid, the fiscal deficit has been brought down from Rs 7,000 crore to Rs 2,500 crore and earthquake ravaged Kutch district is being rebuilt fast.