Atal inaugurates incomplete project, says Tiwari

Bhopal, Sep 29 (UNI) Claiming that the inter-state Bansagar project was still incomplete, senior Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh Assembly Speaker Shriniwas Tiwari today said former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had formally inaugurated the project merely to take credit of its implementation.

''Irrigation canals of the project, co-financed by MP, UP and Bihar, were yet to be constructed and the farmers were not benefitted by it as water was still being released into the Sone river'', Mr Tiwari told reporters here.

Mr Vajpayee, who dedicated the project to the nation on September 25, should have done so after full completion of the project, he said, adding power generation from the project was going on since 1993 and it was formally inaugurated much earlier.

''The BJP government having no contribution to the project was now trying to take credit for its implementation'', Mr Tiwari alleged.

The government claimed the Rs 2964 crore project was completed in 28 years after its foundation was laid by then Prime Minister Morarji Desai in 1978. It has a potential to irrigate about 4 lakh hectare in three states besides generating 425 megawatt hydel power.

Dubbing RSS as a political organisation, the former Speaker criticised the BJP government decision to lift the ban on the government employees from taking part in RSS activities and said politicising the employees would be against the state's interest.

He claimed drought situation prevailed in many areas of the state, while the government was yet to provide relief to those farmers affected by flood. Recovery of land revenue and loan should be waived in areas where the crops failed, he added.

UNI SHD-SP 1438