‘Riverfronts can be developed only in areas with water availability 12 months a year’: Gujarat CM

Patel recollected a number of development initiatives by Modi in Gujarat and mentioned the Sabarmati Riverfront as part of it.

“Today, (the concept of) riverfront has reached the village level. People come to me seeking approval at the municipality level for a riverfront… What was there before the riverfront in Ahmedabad?” the CM said.

“Planning does not suffice, political will is equally needed. With that political will, people who were staying (on the banks of Sabarmati), were shifted and given much better houses than the huts they were living in, and then this development was done. So, the leap of development has been taken while taking care of the poorest persons,” he added.

The CM further said, “Today, everyone is talking about the riverfront. But what is the reason behind its success? Today, when many (office bearers) at the municipality level and others are here, I will say that we should develop riverfronts only at places where water is available all 12 months of the year.”

During the function, attended by many ministers and top bureaucrats including Chief Secretary Raj Kumar, Patel laid foundation stones and inaugurated 16 developmental works of different departments worth Rs 2,000 crore.

To mark the 23 years of Gujarat’s development under Modi, the state government is celebrating Vikas Saptah between October 7 and October 15. Modi became Chief Minister of Gujarat on October 7, 2001.