PM’s address at the foundation stone laying, inauguration and dedication of various projects at Silvassa
Speaker: Narendra Modi
Date: 25 Apr, 2023

Bharat Mata ki – Jai! Bharat Mata ki – Jai! Present on the dais Shri Praful Patel, MPs Shri Vinod Sonkar and Sister Kalaben, Zilla Parishad President Nisha Bhawar ji, Rakesh Singh Chauhan ji, colleagues from the medical world, other dignitaries and my dear brothers and sisters present in large numbers! How are you? All fine and happy! Making progress! Whenever I come here, my heart is filled with joy. It is also a pleasure for me to see the development journey of Daman, Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli. No one can imagine the modern and all-round development taking place in such a small region. We have seen this in the documentary which was just shown to us. Friends, A major feature of this region is that Silvassa is no longer the same as before, it has become cosmopolitan. There will hardly be any corner of India whose people do not live in Silvassa. You love your roots, but you are equally fond of modernity. Keeping this quality of this Union Territory in mind, the Central Government is working rapidly at different levels. The Central Government is laying a lot of emphasis on good quality infrastructure, good roads, good bridges, good schools, better water supply etc. More than 5,500 crore rupees have been spent on developing all these facilities in the last five years. Whether it is a system related to the electricity bill or illumination of street lights with LEDs, this area is changing rapidly. Whether it is the facility of door to door waste collection or 100% waste processing, this Union Territory is inspiring all the states. The new industrial policy that has been introduced here is also giving a fillip to the industrial development and creating new employment opportunities. Once again, I have got the opportunity today to inaugurate new projects worth about 5,000 crore rupees. These projects are related to health, housing, tourism, education and urban development. This will increase Ease of Living. This will increase Ease of Tourism. This will increase Ease of Transportation. And this will also increase Ease of Business. Friends, Today I am very happy about one more thing. You gave me the privilege of laying the foundation stones of many of the projects that were inaugurated today. For a long time, government projects in our country used to hang in balance, get stuck or deviate for years. Many times, even the foundation stones would collapse as they would become old and decrepit, but the projects were not completed. But we have developed a new work culture in the country in the last nine years. Now every effort is made to complete the work expeditiously for which the foundation is laid. As soon as we finish one task, we start another one. This program at Silvassa is a direct proof of this. I congratulate all of you very much for this. Friends, The BJP government at the Centre is working on the mantra of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas and Sabka Prayas’. We are laying a lot of emphasis on the development of every region of the country, balanced development of every region of the country. But it was the misfortune of the country that the development was seen through the prism of politics and vote bank for many decades. There were many considerations behind the announcements of schemes and projects. However, all those announcements were made keeping in mind the votes and how to get votes by appeasing which class of people. Those who did not have access, whose voice was weak, they remained in poverty and they were left behind in the journey of development. This is the reason why our tribal and border areas remained deprived of development. Our fishermen were left to fend for themselves. Daman, Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli have also had to pay a lot for this attitude. I was in Gujarat (as Chief Minister) and I used to watch what these people were doing. The medical college which has got its own campus today has been a witness to this injustice. You give a thought to it, friends. Decades have passed since independence, but a medical college was not built in Daman, Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli. Few of the youth here could somehow get the opportunity to study medicine, that too in another place. And the participation of sons and daughters of tribal families was negligible. Those who ruled the country for decades were never worried about this terrible injustice being done to the youth here. They thought that they would not gain anything by developing this small Union Territory. They could never value your blessings. When you gave us the opportunity to serve the country in 2014, we started working with the spirit of serving with dedication. As a result, Daman, Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli got its first National Academic Medical Organization (NAMO) Medical College. Now around 150 local youths are getting an opportunity to study medicine every year. Within a few years, in the very near future, as many as 1,000 doctors would be ready here. You imagine 1,000 doctors in such a small region. Importantly, the number of youths from our tribal families in this field is continuously increasing. I was also reading a news report about a daughter before I came here. Coming from a tribal family, this girl is currently pursuing her first year medical studies here. That daughter told the media that no one could ever become a doctor in her entire village leave alone her family. Now that daughter considers it her good fortune that this medical college has been established in Dadra and Nagar Haveli and she is its student. Friends, The spirit to serve is the identity of the people here. I remember the medical students here went ahead and helped the people during the Corona pandemic. And during the period of Corona, no one in the family was able to help each other. At that time, the students came forward to help the villages. I would like to tell those student friends that I also mentioned the Village Adoption Program run by you in ‘Mann Ki Baat’. The way the doctors and medical students here performed their duties is a great inspiration for all. Today, I would like to commend everyone associated with the medical facility here for the work they do. Brothers and sisters, This new Medical College of Silvassa will also reduce the pressure on health facilities here. You also know that there was so much pressure on the civil hospital nearby. Now another 300-bed new hospital is being built here in Daman. The government has also given its approval for the construction of an Ayurvedic hospital. Silvassa and this entire area is going to be very capable in terms of health facilities in the near future. Friends, You would recall that I came among you many times when I was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. When I was running the government in Gujarat, I found that science was not taught in any school in the tribal belt from Ambaji to Umargam. How would the children become doctors and engineers if there was no study of science? Therefore, I introduced science in schools and colleges there. Our tribal children face a huge problem while studying in other languages. Any child faces this problem. Due to the English medium, many talented sons and daughters of villages, poor, Dalit, deprived, tribal families could not become doctors and engineers. Our government has now solved this problem as well. Now there is the option of studying medical and engineering in Indian languages, in your own language. It will also benefit the children of this region. Now the child of a poor mother can also dream of becoming a doctor. Friends, Today, along with the medical college, the engineering college has also been inaugurated here. As a result, about 300 youths from here will get an opportunity to study engineering every year. I am also happy that major educational institutions of the country are also opening their campuses in Daman, Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli. NIFT’s satellite campus has come up in Daman, Gujarat National Law University’s campus is there in Silvassa and IIIT Vadodara has opened its campus in Diu. This new medical college will take the facilities of Silvassa to a new level. I assure every student of this region that our government will leave no stone unturned to ensure their bright future. Brothers and sisters, When I came to Silvassa last time, I had talked about ‘Panchdhara’ (five parameters) of development. ‘Panchdhara’ of development means education of children, source of income for the youth, healthcare for elders, irrigation facilities for farmers and redressal for the common citizens. Today I would like to add one more parameter to it. And it is the ownership of homes for women. Many congratulations to them. Our government has given pucca houses to more than three crore poor families of the country in the last few years. Here too, our government is committed to build more than 15,000 houses for the poor. Most of these houses are ready. Today, more than 1200 families have got their own proprietary houses here. And you must be aware that women are also being given an equal share in the houses being given under the PM Awas Yojana. In other words, our government has made thousands of women from Daman, Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli the owner of their homes. Otherwise, we know the system in our country. The owner of the house, farm, shop and car is a man. Even if there is a scooter, the owner is also a man. There is nothing in the name of a woman. We have given the ownership rights of these houses to the women. And you also know that the cost of each house built under the PM Awas Yojana is several lakh rupees. Therefore, the women who got their house are worth lakhs of rupees. As a result, these mothers and sisters of our poor families have become ‘Lakhpati Didi’. Now they will be known as ‘Lakhpati Didi’, because they have become the owner of a house worth more than Rs 1 lakh. I am especially congratulating these ‘Lakhpati Didi’. Friends, Today the whole world is celebrating this year as the International Year of Millets due to the efforts of India. Our government has given the identity of ‘Shree Anna’ to Millets i.e. coarse grains. Our government is promoting the millets grown by the farmers here, like Ragi or in the local language, Nagli or Nachni. Today, the consumption of flour, cookies, idli or laddoos made from ragi is increasing and farmers are also benefiting. I often mention this in the ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme. And you know that next Sunday, the hundredth episode of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ will be broadcast. ‘Mann Ki Baat’ has become a very good platform to highlight the efforts of the people of India and to glorify the specialties of India. Like you, I am also eagerly waiting for the hundredth episode on Sunday. Friends, Amidst these growing facilities, I also see Daman, Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli as bright spots of coastal tourism in India. Daman, Diu, Dadra-Nagar Haveli have the potential to emerge as important tourist destinations of the country. When we are working on making India the most attractive tourism destination in the world, then its importance has increased further. The two seafronts built in Daman named Ram Setu and Nani Daman Marine Overview (NAMO) Path will also play an important role in expanding tourism here. This is going to become a favourite spot for the tourists who come here on weekends. I am told that new tent cities are also being built in the beaches for the convenience of the tourists. After a while, I myself am going to visit the Nani Daman Marine Overview (NAMO) Path. This seafront will surely attract tourists from all over the country and the world. Along with this, construction of Khanvel Riverfront, Dudhani Jetty, Eco Resort, etc. will also promote tourism here. When Coastal Promenade and beach development projects are completed, the attraction of this place will increase further. It will also lead to creation of new employment and self-employment opportunities. Brothers and sisters, Today the emphasis is not on appeasement but on satisfaction in the country. Preference to the underprivileged has become the hallmark of good governance in the last nine years. The Central Government is working fast to provide facilities to every needy, deprived section and deprived area of the country. When there is saturation of schemes, when the government itself goes to the doorsteps of the people, there is an end to discrimination, corruption and nepotism. I am happy that Daman, Diu and Dadra Nagar Haveli have reached very close to saturation as far as various schemes of the Central Government are concerned. There will be prosperity with your efforts and the resolution of a developed India will be achieved. Once again, many congratulations to all of you for the development projects. Bharat Mata ki – Jai! Bharat Mata ki – Jai! Thanks a lot.