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Kejriwal: You (Narendra Modi) claim 11% agriculture growth in the state while your government’s data says production has shrunk -1.18% annually and revenue has declined from Rs 27,815 crore in 2006-07 to Rs 25,908 crore in 2012-13. Why?
Fact: According to Y K Alagh, noted economist and former union minister, Gujarat’s agriculture is neither growing at over 10 per cent as claimed by the state government nor what Kejriwal alleged. “Both are untrue. Gujarat’s agriculture is 68 per cent rain-fed and has fluctuated a lot over the years. The agricultural growth rate for Gujarat between 2003-04 and 2010-011, using triennium averages, stands at 5.3 per cent annually,” explains Alagh.
Kejriwal: Why does Gujarat purchase solar power at Rs 13 per unit? Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka are buying it at Rs 7.50 and Rs 5 per unit, respectively.
Fact: Pranav Mehta, chairman, National Solar Energy Federation of India, feels Kejriwal was not well informed on the issue. “Gujarat purchases solar power at Rs 12.54 per unit. The power purchase agreements were signed in 2009-10 when the cost of production was high. Since new solar power plants have lower production costs, the price has come down to Rs 7 per unit. Units in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka were set up recently, hence the lower rates.”
Kejriwal: Electricity for irrigation is a distant dream for farmers. Why do you claim 24x7 availability of electricity when farmers get power for only three hours a day?
Fact: K K Bajaj, chief general manager of Consumer Education and Research Society (CERS), agrees with Kejriwal that 450,000 applications for new electricity connections are pending.However, he disagrees on the point farmers do not get 24-hour power. According to Bajaj, farmers get eight hours of electricity for irrigation, and single-phase electricity for household use round the clock.
Kejriwal: Why has the Modi government given a Rs 29,000 crore sop to Tata Nano?
Fact: Government sources provided details of sops granted and claimed that by no calculation the amount touches Rs 29,000 crore. The sops are in the form of value-added tax exemption and are spread over 20 years. There is no way to quantify the amount.
Kejriwal: About 1.3 million people applied for 1,500 posts of talati (taluka-level revenue officer) recently. How can you claim to have solved the problem of unemployment?
Fact: Around 800,000 applicants had applied for around 800 posts.
Kejriwal: Your ministry has people like Babu Bokhiria, convicted in a mining case, and Purshottam Solanki, accused in a Rs 450-crore fishing contract scandal. Why?
Fact: Both are part of the council of ministers in Modi’s government. Bokhiria’s appeal is pending in the high court, while investigation is on against Solanki.
Kejriwal: Why has Modi stopped the subsidy scheme for tractors and farm equipment?
Fact: Ajmal Thakore, sarpanch of Hansalpur village and a farmer, says he availed the subsidy scheme six months ago when he bought a tractor. The scheme is very much on.
