Gujarat goverment pooh-poohs Shaktisinh Gohil’s claim

The state government has strongly reacted to the allegations of leader of the opposition Shaktisinh Gohil in the matter of giving contract for installing the Vessel Traffic Management System on the state’s coastline. Spokespersons for the state government, health minister Jaynarayan Vyas and minister of state for industries Saurabh Patel, have rejected the claims made by Gohil, in a press release issued on August 19.

The release states that the “Gujarat government has not incurred any financial expense for the VTMS project of the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) and the entire project is based on BOOT (Built Operate On Transfer) policy, where the private investors are putting money for the project. The state government has not spent a single rupee for it.  The allegations of made by the leader of the opposition that Rs. 123 crore was spent, are baseless.”

“The state government has always given top priority to coastal security and has always taken the initiative for its safety and security. Radar stations are being set up on the coast line, which are equipped with the latest instruments. With the help of these radar stations vessel movement will be kept under surveillance. It can also be useful for guiding the ships with risky cargo like LPG, LNG tankers, Chemical Cargo and the possibilities of potential accidents in the sea can be reduced. Indian Coast Guard will be given one console to monitor the ship movement.”