State govt will benefit from Centre's schemes, says Rao Narbir Singh

Haryana minister Rao Nabir Singh says if the state government has to face the brunt of the Centre's failures, it has every right to take credit of its achievements as well

As Haryana goes to the polls on October 21, state Public Works (B&R) and Forests Minister Rao Nabir Singh tells Nitin Kumar about the problems at hand and what the BJP government is doing to address them. Edited excerpts: 

With the Assembly polls a few weeks away, what achievements are you showcasing to the people?

Our government has given Haryana what was completely ignored by previous regimes. The last five years has seen the construction of 27,000 km of roads, which includes 19,300 km of repairing and widening, and 545 km of new construction. Haryana had only five national highways in 1966 and only 11 were added till 2014. But, we have constructed 17 new national highways, taking the tally to 32. 

The completion of the Dwarka Expressway and removal of Kherki Daula toll plaza have been long-pending demands. These are still unmet despite the government agreeing to it in-principle. When do you think the issues will be resolved? 

Dwarka Expressway is one of our priorities and the work is expected to be completed before August 2021. The toll tax issue is pending with the high court. As soon as the court gives a decision, we will shift it to a new location. 

Gurugram was connected to Delhi through Delhi Metro Rail Corporation’s Yellow Line in 2010. However, since then, not a single Metro station has been added to it beyond HUDA City Centre. 

The government has proposed these plans and the final decision is yet to come, but soon the Metro network will be spread all across Haryana. We have approved a 32-km metro line, which will start from HUDA City Centre, pass via Subhash Chowk, Sector 10, Sector 22, and terminate at Cyber City. 

IL&FS has refused to construct and run the Rapid Metro. The Punjab and Haryana High Court ruled that the operational cost of rapid metro will have to be borne by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) after September 17. Is the state ready to run the Metro on its own? 
 

Yes, we are ready to take control of the Rapid Metro. 

Though it is an industrial hub, Gurugram is one of the most polluted cities in the country. Do you have an action plan to curb pollution that’s becoming a menace? 

Pollution is certainly a concern. Everyone is concerned about saving and preserving the climate. Our prime minister has started a massive campaign to make the nation plastic-free. We are also working in the same direction. I’ve visited my constituency and have asked people to stop using plastic and avoid giving wedding cards as they are one of the main causes of pollution and thousands of trees are being cut to get the required paper for wedding cards. I have requested everyone to send me a WhatsApp card and use digital mode, instead of paper. 

Apart from that, we are developing a city forest in Sector 76 spread over 1,000 acres, which will also have a 100-acre first-of-its-kind leopard safari, to preserve our flora and fauna. This will also attract tourists to the state. We’ve planted about 75 million trees in Haryana over the past five years. 

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is considering scrapping projects where land acquisition is yet to be completed. Is there any such project in the state, which could be affected if this policy takes effect?

As of now, we don’t have any such problem in the state. People are willingly giving land for the state’s development. 

The demand of transferring colonies to Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) and for building and maintenance of civic facilities has remained unresolved, despite Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s assurance in 2016. 

We have achieved the target of bringing 41 residential colonies under the MCG, while only 16 are left. We have made a proposal to them and have forwarded it to the departments concerned. 

The BJP is working hard to win Mewat this time. How confident are you of winning the elections, now that the Haryana government has decided to implement National Register of Citizens (NRC)? 

Yes, we will win the elections. Our development agenda has helped win the trust of people in Mewat. The NRC issue will not affect anybody’s sentiments, it  is just an exercise to prove our identity. 

The Congress is accusing the BJP of fighting the state election on issues like Jammu and Kashmir, and the NRC as the state government doesn’t have any achievement, which it can show to people and seek vote.

The party has both its national and state achievements. For us, these issues are a matter of pride. If the state government has to face the brunt of the Centre’s failures, it has every right to take credit of its achievements as well. Every son takes pride in talking about his father’s achievement, I don’t think it is wrong. It will benefit us. 

Instances of Hindu-Muslim conflict in the state have made national headlines. What is your opinion on this?

One of the issues, which grabbed media attention, was a fight over cricket that was given a communal colour. Such things are unfortunate. There has been no conflict among religions in either Mewat, or Haryana.  

Jobs are one of the main concerns in Haryana, which has the highest unemployment rate in the country. Do you have a strategy in place to address this issue? 

We are developing five new IMTs from Palwal to Badli, which will provide thousands of jobs to the youth not only from Haryana but from other states too.  

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