State not working with Centre to implement schemes: Goyal

Union Minister of State for Power and Coal Piyush Goyal on Monday blamed Karnataka for not properly coordinating with the NDA government to pass on the benefits of several central schemes to the people.

Goyal told reporters in Bengaluru that people of Karnataka could gain a lot more if the state government cooperates with the Centre in taking central schemes to the beneficiaries.

He pointed out that the Centre’s Ujala scheme of providing low-cost LED bulbs had not been implemented properly in Karnataka due to lack of interest by the state government. “Only 1.58 crore LED bulbs have been sold in Karnataka, while the sales in Gujarat stand at 3.45 crore bulbs,” he pointed out.

The Union minister said the state government’s interest in implementing the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, of providing crop insurance scheme to farmers, was far from satisfactory. “Lakhs of farmers would have benefited had the state government shown interest in implementing the scheme, given that a state like Karnataka is prone to drought,” he said.

He also rubbished the state government’s charge that the Centre is discriminating against non-BJP ruled states. “Recently, six coal blocks in Maharashtra were allotted to Karnataka for its thermal plants. As coal minister, I could have allowed Maharashtra, my home state, to retain the blocks for the thermal plants in the state. However, the NDA government does not indulge in such biases. The government believes in serving the entire nation,” Goyal said. Karnataka again lagged in implementing the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana, a central government initiative to provide continuous power supply to rural India, he added.

Goyal wondered why the Karnataka government was insisting on giving the Ujjwala scheme of providing fee LPG gas connection to BPL families, its own name.

Earlier, the minister listed out the “achievements” of the NDA government during the past three years and said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had succeeded in transforming the country into a “New India”.