This June, Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, dedicated the Sujalam Sufalam scheme for the distribution of the Narmada waters to North Gujarat, promising a second green revolution in the region. It was his ‘gift’ to his people. Six months later it is election time but Sujalam Sufalam finds no mention in the BJP’s campaign. At a rally in Harij on Wednesday, Modi began his address, talking of his ties with North Gujarat and moved on to attacking the Congress. Not once did he mention Sujalam Sufalam. The omission is understandable considering the controversy that surrounds Sujalam Sufalam. The scheme that has an outlay of over Rs 6,000 crore, was not spared even by the ruling party MLAs. In fact, ten of the 15 MLAs on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that called the project a scam, were from the BJP.While the party is ignoring the scheme, people in North Gujarat too claim they have never heard of it. Raghu Desai is a cattle herder in Gotarka village of Radhanpur taluka in Patan. Surveying the salt-coated barren fields, Desai says he hasn’t benefited from any such scheme. “Nothing has changed. It was the same land five years ago, giving a single crop in a good monsoon year. Water is an issue even for the cattle,” he says. And no, he has never heard of Sujalam Sufalam.
