Chief Minister of Gujarat Shri Bhupendra Bhai Patel, CR Patil, Ministers from the Government of Gujarat, all the beneficiary families of PM Awas Yojana, all other dignitaries and my dear brothers and sisters of Gujarat!

Besides congratulating thousands of my brothers and sisters from Gujarat who got their homes today, I also congratulate Bhupendra Bhai and his team. A short while ago, I have got the opportunity to lay the foundation stone and inaugurate projects worth thousands of crores of rupees associated with villages and cities. These include houses for the poor, water projects, projects for urban development, and some projects related to industrial development. I once again congratulate all the beneficiaries, especially those sisters who have got their pucca houses today.

The development of the country is a conviction and a commitment for the BJP. Nation building, for us, is a continuous effort. It has been only a few months since the formation of the BJP government again in Gujarat, but looking at the pace at which development has taken place, I am extremely happy and feeling delighted!

Recently, a budget of Rs 3 lakh crore dedicated to the welfare of the poor was presented in Gujarat. In a way, Gujarat has taken the lead in various decisions, giving priority to the underprivileged. In the last few months, about 25 lakh beneficiaries of Gujarat have been given Ayushman cards. About 2 lakh pregnant women of Gujarat have received assistance under the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana.

During the same period, 4 new medical colleges have come up in Gujarat. After the formation of the new government, works worth thousands of crores of rupees have started in Gujarat on modern infrastructure. With these, new employment opportunities are going to be created for thousands of youngsters in Gujarat. This shows that the double engine government of Gujarat is working at double the speed.

Friends,

The unprecedented change that has taken place in the entire country in the last 9 years is being experienced by every countryman today. There was a time when the people of the country yearned even for the basic amenities of life. After waiting for years, people had accepted this absence of facilities as their fate. Everyone used to believe that it was their destiny and that they just needed to live their lives like that. They just pinned all their hopes on their children to grow up and change their fate. Such was the disappointment! Most of the people had accepted that the future generations of those born in a slum would also live in slums. The country is now coming out of that despair.

Today, our government is reaching out to every poor person by addressing every need. We are trying for 100 percent saturation of the schemes. That is, the government itself is reaching out to the beneficiaries of the scheme. This approach of the government has ended corruption on a large scale and ended discrimination. Our government neither sees religion nor caste to reach the beneficiary. And when it is decided that 50 people in a village are supposed to get a particular benefit, the 50 people are sure to get it, no matter which community or caste they belong to. So, everyone gets it.

I believe that where there is no discrimination, that is true secularism. Speaking of social justice, when you work for everyone's happiness and convenience, when you put in 100% work to give everyone their rights, I believe there is no social justice greater than that. That's the path on which we are walking. And we all know that when the poor are less worried about the basic needs of their life, their confidence level gets a boost.

A short while ago, about 38 thousand or 40 thousand poor families have got their own pucca houses. Out of these, about 32 thousand houses have been completed within the last 125 days. I just got the opportunity to interact with many of these beneficiaries. And while listening to them, you must have also felt the immense self-confidence that they have gained because of those houses. When every family develops that kind of self-confidence, it becomes such a great power for the society! Confidence builds up in the mind of the poor and he believes that yes, this is his right and this society is with him. So, it becomes a great strength.

Friends,

By following the old and failed policies, neither the fate of the country can change nor the country can become successful. It is very important to understand the approach with which the earlier governments were working and the mindset with which we are working today. The schemes to provide housing for the poor were going on in our country for a long time. But as per the statistics, 10-12 years ago, about 75 percent of the families in our villages did not have a pucca toilet in their houses.

This was not taken into account in the previously run schemes related to the poor's houses. Home is not just a roof to cover the head; it is not just a shelter. Home is a place of faith, where dreams take shape, where the present and future of a family is decided. Therefore, after 2014, we did not limit the 'house for the poor' to just a pucca roof. Rather, we have made the house a robust basis to fight against poverty, a medium for the empowerment of the poor and for their dignity.

Today, instead of the government, the beneficiary himself decides how his house will be built under the PM Awas Yojana. It is not decided by the centre in Delhi; it is not decided by the government in Gandhinagar; it is decided by the beneficiary. The government deposits money directly into his bank account. We do geo-tagging of the house at different stages to ensure that the house is under construction. You also know that it was not like this before. The money for the house used to fall prey to corruption before reaching the beneficiary. The houses that were built were not fit to live in.

Brothers & Sisters,

The houses being built under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana today are not limited to just one scheme; it is a package of several schemes. It has a toilet built under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan; electricity connection is available under Saubhagya Yojana; free LPG gas connection is available under the Ujjwala scheme and tap water is available under the Jal Jeevan Abhiyan.

Earlier, to get all these facilities, the poor had to visit government offices for years together. And today, along with all these facilities, the poor are also getting free ration and free treatment. Just imagine how massive the protective shield is for the poor!

Friends,

PM Awas Yojana is giving a major impetus to the poor as well as women empowerment. In the last 9 years, about 4 crore pucca houses have been provided to poor families. About 70 percent of these houses are also in the name of women beneficiaries. These crores of sisters are the ones who got the property registered in their names for the very first time. It is also known that here in our country and even in Gujarat, normally a house is registered in the name of a man, car is in the name of a man, farm is in the name of a man, scooter is also in the name of a man, the husband. Even after the man’s death, it gets registered in the name of his son. There is nothing in the name of the woman or the mother. Modi has changed this scenario. Now the name of the women or the mother has to be added to avail the benefits of government schemes or the women are given the right exclusively.

Every house built under the PM Awas Yojana no longer costs Rs 50,000 or so. It now costs around Rs 1.5 - 1.75 lakh. This means that all those who are living in the houses under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana have houses worth lakhs and are the owners of houses worth lakhs. This means that crores of women have become 'lakhpatis', and therefore my 'lakhpati' sisters bless me from every corner of India so that I can work more for them.

Friends,

The BJP government is also working in view of the increasing urbanization in the country and keeping in mind the challenges of the future. We have built more than a thousand houses in Rajkot using modern technology. These houses are built in lesser time, at a lower cost and are equally safe. Under the Light House Project, we have conducted this experiment in 6 cities of the country. With such technology, a greater number of cheap and modern houses are going to be available to the poor in the coming times.

Friends,

Our government has overcome another challenge related to housing. Earlier there used to be arbitrariness in the real estate sector. There used to be complaints of cheating. There was no law to give protection to the middle-class families. And these big builders who used to come up with plans would show such beautiful photographs that the buyer would take the decision to buy that house. But while handing over the house, he would be given a completely different house. There would be something on the paper but something completely different used to be handed over.

We framed a RERA law. This has given legal protection to middle class families. Now it is compulsory for the builders to build the exact house and the design shown at the time of payment, otherwise they will be put behind bars. Moreover, for the first time since independence, arrangements have been made to help the middle-class with bank loans along with interest rate benefits to help middle class families build their houses.

Gujarat has also done a commendable job in this field. By providing Rs 11,000 crore as assistance to 5 lakh such middle class families in Gujarat, the government has fulfilled their life's dream.

Friends,

Today we all together are trying to build a developed India in the 'Azaadi Ka Amritkaal'. In the next 25 years, our cities, especially the Tier-2, Tier-3 cities will accelerate the economy. There are many such cities in Gujarat as well. The facilities in these cities are also being developed according to the challenges of the future. Basic facilities are being improved in 500 cities of the country under the AMRUT mission. The smart facilities being developed in 100 cities of the country are also making them modern.

Friends,

Today we are laying equal emphasis on both Ease of Living and Quality of Life in urban planning. We are trying to ensure that people do not have to spend a lot of time in travelling from one place to another. Today, metro network is being expanded in the country with this thought. Till the year 2014, there was a metro rail network of less than 250 kilometres in the country. That means, even 250-kilometres of metro route could not be built in 40 years; whereas 600 kilometres of new metro routes have been laid in the last 9 years, and the metro has started running on them.

Today metro is running in 20 cities in the country. Today you see how accessible public transport has become in cities like Ahmedabad with the advent of Metro. When the surrounding areas of the cities are linked with modern and fast connectivity, it will reduce the pressure on the large cities. Twin cities like Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar are also being connected by trains like Vande Bharat Express. Similarly, the number of electric buses is also being increased rapidly in many cities of Gujarat.

Friends,

Be it poor or middle class, quality of life in our cities is possible only when we get clean environment and clean air. For this, work is going on in the country on mission mode. Every day thousands of tonnes of municipal waste are generated in our country. Earlier there was no seriousness about this issue in the country. Over the years, we have laid a lot of emphasis on waste management. In 2014, only 14-15 percent of waste processing was done in the country, while today 75 percent of the waste is being processed. If this had happened earlier, then these mountains of garbage would not have existed in our cities today. Now the Central Government is also working on mission mode to eliminate such mountains of garbage.

Friends,

Gujarat has given the country the best model of water management and water supply grid. One has a hard time believing when he hears about the 3,000 kilometres of main pipeline and more than 1.25 lakh kilometres of distribution lines because it's such a mammoth task. But this unbelievable work has been done by the people of Gujarat. With this, potable drinking water has reached about 15,000 villages and 250 urban areas. With such facilities, the life of everyone in Gujarat, be it poor or middle class, is becoming easier. The manner in which the people of Gujarat have ensured their participation in the construction of Amrit Sarovars is also commendable.

Friends,

We have to maintain this pace of development continuously. With everyone's efforts, all our resolutions of Amrit Kaal will be fulfilled. In the end, once again I congratulate all of you for the development projects. The families whose dreams have been fulfilled, and have got homes, must take a new resolution now and muster the strength to take the family forward. The possibilities of development are immense. You are entitled to it and we too are putting our efforts. So, let's work together to get India a faster momentum and take Gujarat towards more prosperity. With this spirit, thank you very much, all of you!

*******

DS/ VJ