'Guj earning huge amount through central power projects'

Vadodara, Dec 7: Union Minister of State for Power

on Friday said

has been earning Rs 1,700 crore per annum by selling power to other states, which has been allocated to it from central power sector projects. "The Centre has been allocating 3,000MW of power to Gujarat from its central power sector projects, of which it sells 835 MW of power to other states and earns an amount of Rs 5 crore per day," Scindia said addressing a poll public meeting in Elora park area of the Sayajigunj assembly constituency here on Friday night.

"The electricity duty charged in Gujarat is 20 per cent as compared to 5 per cent in neighbouring Rajasthan and other states," he added. In a veiled attack on Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's development plank, he said the state was already developed on many fronts since ages. "Gujarat had been a developed state and it had been trading silk to China over a hundred years ago. Not only that, Ahmedabad was called Manchester of India because of a large number of textile mills in the city. Surat is known as a diamond city," the Union minister said.

Scindia alleged there was a "high rate" of mortality, women’s death and malnourishment in Gujarat. "There was a debt Rs 1.40 lakh crore on Gujarat, which shows what sort of development has taken place as claimed by Modi government," he said. Scindia alleged that while BJP talked about constructing a Ram temple in Ayodhya, it did not announce the date of construction of the temple.

PTI