LUCKNOW MUNICIPAL Corporation’s (LMC’s) ambitious ‘energy through bio-waste’ project has been grounded with Urban Development minister, Azam Khan, declaring that the project was “unsuccessful.”
Speaking at Lucknow Doordarshan’s programme, Avam Ki Awaaz, on Friday evening Azam directly blamed former Prime Minister and Lucknow MP, Atal Behari Vajpayee for the Rs 80- crore project being unsuccessful.
Azam said he would now take back the land allotted by the State Government for the project and use it for simple waste management instead.
The minister, while lashing out at both the BJP and Congress got hyper when he was asked about the Central grant for development of cities under the Jawaharlal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission.
“If the government wants that we should sacrifice 50 per cent of the grant in the name of Nehruji then so be it.” Khan said under the Central government’s urban renewal scheme, 50 per cent of the amount has to be shared by the State Government with the Centre pooling in the remaining half.
And this, Khan felt, would be a total waste on part of the State Government. The minister also had objections to the development scheme being named after Nehru. In a candid discussion, on the DD Lucknow programme that is becoming very popular now, Azam Khan also said he was pained at the manner in which the Raj Bhawan kept on turning down his Jauhar University proposal repeatedly.
On Jal Nigam’s poor financial condition and the resultant employee trouble there, the minister said through his efforts about 75 per cent of the loss that the Nigam was incurring has been taken care of. “The Jal Nigam would be standing tall and proud very soon,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}On Jal Nigam’s poor financial condition and the resultant employee trouble there, the minister said through his efforts about 75 per cent of the loss that the Nigam was incurring has been taken care of. “The Jal Nigam would be standing tall and proud very soon,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Asked about pollution in the Gomti and the poor condition of the sewage treatment plant, the minister said the previous government was to be blamed. The DD programme also saw live phone-ins and a direct contact with the people on the issues touched that the minister spoke on.
People by and large said though they appreciated the efforts made by the minister, however, still there was much to be done to improve the image of the department that the minister was heading.