Jaipur, (Samajweekly) Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday inaugurated the newly constructed Oxygen City Park in Kota and said that the Kota development model will be repeated in various cities of the state.
The Chief Minister said that Kota is the first city where the roads are traffic signal free. He said that this is a big step towards environmental protection and such arrangements are being made in other cities also.
“Suicide of students is sad. It is the responsibility of all of us to stop such cases. I myself have held a review meeting with the coaching managers and experts of the state. A committee has also been formed to prevent such cases and provide a stress-free environment to the students. The report will come soon, on which the state government will move forward,” the Chief Minister said.
He said that the state government has provided free land for the expansion of the airport in Kota.
“Despite this, the central government is not able to take the work forward. Kota MP and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla should take initiative in this work and communicate with the Central government,” the Chief Minister said.
Speaking on petrol and diesel prices when the petrol pumps across state are closed, he said that unexpected tax on petrol and diesel is a very serious matter across the country.
The Chief Minister called upon petrol pump operators not to participate in unnecessary strikes.
“The Central Government has abolished the share of state governments in excise duty and imposed three new taxes like special excise duty and additional excise duty in which the share of the states is zero. In such a situation, the states are facing huge revenue losses. At the same time, the central government expects the states to reduce their taxes,” the Chief Minister said.
He said that VAT on petrol and diesel in the neighboring state of Madhya Pradesh is higher than in Rajasthan.
He said that despite the increase in international prices in the past, the price did not cross Rs 60, but today despite the low international prices, petrol is more than Rs 100 per liter.
He demanded from the Central government to provide relief to the general public by reducing the prices of petrol and diesel on the same lines as the price of LPG has been reduced by Rs 200.
He also demanded to provide cylinders at Rs 500 under the Ujjwala scheme across the country like the Rajasthan government.
He said that the Central government should implement the Right to Social Security Act in the country, so that uniform social security can be provided.
“Chiranjeevi Health Insurance Scheme (free treatment up to Rs 25 lakh) should be implemented in the country so that the poor and needy do not have to go into debt for treatment,” the Chief Minister said.
He said that under Indira Gandhi gas subsidy scheme, gas cylinders are being made available in the state for just Rs 500. “After our scheme, the Central government has reduced the price by Rs 200, whereas like Rajasthan, gas cylinders are available only for Rs 500,” the Chief Minister said.
