Union urban development minister Jaipal Reddy today said he was "pained" as Gujarat government has failed to acknowledge that Rs 7,998 crore aid by the Centre has brought a sea change in infrastructure of the cities in the state.
"I am pained as inspite of the assistance given under the Jawharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), the Gujarat government has not acknowledged Centre's help in changing the urban infrastructure here," Reddy told reporters. Reddy was in the city two days ahead of elections to six civic bodies constituting major urban areas in the state.
"They have not even bothered to put JNNURM symbol prominently on the schemes funded by the Centre," Reddy said. Besides Rs 7998.33 crore for Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Sruat, Vadodara and Porbandar, the Centre has provided financial assistance to 52 small and medium towns, he said.
"The Centre had offered Gujarat government a metro rail project for Ahmedabad earlier, but the state government refused it and instead wanted a Bus Rapid Transit System. If they agreed then, by now half the work on metro rail would have been completed," Reddy said.
He said even now if the state government is thinking anew on taking up the metro rail project, the Centre is ready to help the state in all possible ways.
