New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday formally adopted four villages of Karnali group panchayat in Vadodara district in Gujarat as part of the 'Sansad Adarsh Gram Yojana' for MPs. Jaitley made this announcement at Karnali village, around 60 kms from Gandhinagar, which is one of the four villages he has adopted.
"I am very fortunate to have adopted four villages of Karnali, Pipaliya, Vadiya and Baglipura, which fall under the Karnali group panchayat. I will visit these villages from time to time and ensure their development," Jaitley said.
"Rs 20 crore will be spent on various development works in these villages, which includes water supply schemes, construction of roads, construction of a bridge between Chandod village and Karnali," the Minister added.
He also announced that he would adopt Chandod village near here next year to transform it into a tourist spot. The minister laid the foundation stone for the construction of Chandod-Karnali bridge and also performed a 'puja' at the Kuber temple in Karnali.
Jaitley said the bridge will be constructed at a cost of Rs 16.5 crore, while the remaining amount of Rs 3.5 crore will be used for water supply schemes, roads, construction of toilets in homes and providing homes for poor in the villages.
He also promised to look into the riverfront development at Chandod village, which is known for religious places like the Kuber Temple and Lord Dattatraya temple. The Minister had written a letter to Vadodara District Collector Vinod Rao on December 17 informing him that he would adopt these four villages.
The collective population of these four villages is 2,506 (Karnali 736, Pipaliya 717, Vadiya 631 and Baglipura 422). Jaitley further said that in the past seven months 11 crore bank accounts have been opened under the 'Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana'.
He added that Gujarat has shown a path of development to the country by hosting biennial Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit. "The event has received a tremendous response this year which was today inaugurated in Gandhinagar by PM Narendra Modi in the presence of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon," he said.
