Praveen Shekhar | Edited by Arindam Mukherjee
New Delhi, September 14, 2017 | UPDATED 17:08 IST
Skepticism arises when one looks at two projects that were launched in 2010 by Narendra Modi with as much fanfare.
Artist Ram V Sutar gives finishing touches on the replica head of 30-foot statue in the artist's workshop. Photo: michaelgraves.com
Narendra Modi launched two projects in 2010 with as much fanfareWith a huge fanfare, Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Thursday laid the foundation stone for the much-hyped Ahmedabad-Mumbai high-speed bullet train project. The bullet train is expected to begin operating in 2022.
Since, Japan is India's partner in the bullet train project, there is a no doubt over the project being completed in time. But, skepticism arises when one looks at two projects that were launched in 2010 by Narendra Modi with as much fanfare when he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat.
1. MEGA: Metro-Link Express for Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad
2. Statue of Unity: a statue dedicated to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel located on Sadhu Bet island near Sardar Sarovar Dam in Vadodara, Gujarat
While, the Metro-Link Express for Gandhinagar and Ahmedabad, abbreviated MEGA, or Ahmedabad Metro was conceptualised during his tenure as the Gujarat Chief Minister in 2003, the special purpose vehicle company was established in February 2010.
Serving as a mass-rapid transit system for the cities of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar in Gujarat, the MEGA Project was meant just for a distance of 39.25 km, but it has gone through excessive delays. There was a near-derailment of the project on account of a scam involving financial irregularities. It is only lately, that the project has started picking up some pace.
Another project that is in question is, Statue of Unity. Narendra Modi had launched the Statue of Unity project in October 2010 when he was chief minister of Gujarat. The statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is to be around 600 feet tall making it the world's tallest when complete.
The construction of the statue was started in October 2014 by the nodal agency, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Rashtriya Ekta Trust (SVPRET).
Soon after Modi became Prime Minister, the project was declared a 'national project' and the central government allocated Rs200 crore for the initial phase of construction. However, for reasons not known, SVPRET has been failing to meet deadlines.
Now, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reportedly expressed his displeasure over the slow progress in construction of the State of Unity.
A massive national campaign was launched for the project. Farmer's tools from all over the country were to be used as the iron needed for the statue and other structures symbolic of "unifying the country".
Although it was initially announced that the iron collected will be used for the main statue, it later emerged that the collected iron will not be used in construction of the actual statue and will instead be used for some other part of the project.
The project had also come in for criticism over the statue being made in China. Larsen & Toubro (L&T), the company contracted by the Gujarat government for project, has sub-leased the "bronze cladding" of the statue to TQ Art Foundry, part of the Jiangxi Toqine Company in Nanchang, China.
It was on this issue that in the month of February, then leader of opposition in the Gujarat assembly, Shankersinh Vaghela (now left Congress), took a dig at the BJP by saying that the saffron party's governments in the Centre and state are promoting "Make in India", but the statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is "Made in China".