Jodhpur: Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot Friday accused the state govt of neglecting Jodhpur and the wider Marwar region in the recent budget, alleging delays in key infrastructure projects, pending departmental payments and a slowdown in welfare and development works.Flagging persistent water scarcity in Marwar, Gehlot said his govt had spent nearly Rs 1,400 crore from its own resources on the third phase of the Rajiv Gandhi Lift Canal scheme to ensure drinking water supply to villages across Jodhpur district and adjoining areas. “The work began but later slowed down. If we had waited for immediate central funding, the project would not even have started,” he said, adding that the region’s urgent needs were being ignored.
He also pointed to completed public infrastructure projects that remain non-operational. A Rs 80 crore sports institute is lying closed, he said, depriving athletes of facilities. The newly constructed Sumer Public Library is yet to open, while work on the proposed Fintech University is progressing at a slow pace. Gehlot further claimed that hospital buildings in Digadi, Pratap Nagar, Chainpura and Magra Punjla are ready but lack doctors and equipment. “The govt should not adopt such an indifferent approach,” he said. Describing the state budget as “deeply disappointing”, Gehlot alleged that pending payments across departments were affecting welfare schemes and development works, and questioned claims of rising revenue. He also raised concerns over repeated delays in inaugurating the Barmer refinery, asking why launch dates were being changed. Calling for timely panchayat and urban local body elections, he expressed confidence that Congress would perform well, while warning that unchecked cash distribution during polls amounted to “the murder of democracy.” “If money continues to be distributed unchecked, how will democracy survive? This amounts to the murder of democracy,” he said. Drawing a comparison, he recalled that former Chief Election Commissioner TN Seshan once postponed polling in Tamil Nadu after allegations of inducements.
