In Raman Singh’s absence, it was more work and less play for his Cabinet. Housing and Forests Minister Ganesh Ram Bhagat and Industries and Transport Minister Rajinderpal Singh Bhatia held fort as the CM left for the Vijay Sankalp Sammelan of the party in New Delhi.And they have a checklist of policies ready for Singh to approve when he returns, including whether or not the state should have the ‘‘Jogi model’’ of the new capital.Only four days ago, Bhagat got one of the key ‘‘policy decisions of the previous Congress government on winding up’’ the Chhattisgarh Housing Board reversed. Now, in the absence of the CM, Bhagat got the file on the capital project pulled out and shot off a note to him, recommending setting up of a ministerial committee to examine the proposal.Singh, so far, has not committed on the new capital project. But now, with the minister pushing the file, he might have to take notice. On his return, Singh said: ‘‘There is no problem with the site. We can go ahead with the new capital project for the same site — selected by a committee of experts. However, we have reservations on the size of the project. It’s very big and will put a huge burden on the state exchequer. So, it needs to be trimmed down,’’ he said.Told about Bhagat’s suggestion, he said: ‘‘Immediately, we may not take any final decision on how to go about the project but after Lok Sabha elections, the government will take up the issue and decide on a project that suits the needs of the state.’’ He did not rule out inviting fresh global tenders for the project.The new capital, which was a dream project of former CM Ajit Jogi, is to come up 20 km away from Raipur. The estimate of Rs 4,500 crore has put the BJP government on the backfoot. A senior minister, however, said there were other considerations too. ‘‘The main problem with the project is also lack of railway connectivity,’’ he said.Bhatia has not been idle, either. Yesterday, he cleared the reinstatement of 63 employees of MP State Road Transport Corporation, which Jogi disbanded on December 31, 2002.
