Dehradun:

Claiming that development has gained pace in Uttarakhand over the past few months, Union Minister Harish Rawat on Tuesday exuded confidence about the ruling Congress's impressive victory in the civic body polls in the state slated for April 28, 2013. "Development oriented decisions taken by the state government over the last few months are bound to play a big role in ensuring the Congress' thumping victory in the forthcoming civic body polls," the Union Minister for Water Resources told reporters in Dehradun.

He alleged that the funds allocated to Dehradun, Haridwar and Nainital munipal corporations under the first phase of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) scheme were not utilised properly by the previous BJP government. The funds allocated under the scheme were meant for the development of urban amenities in these areas. The Union minister appealed to people to vote for Congress candidates if they wanted world class infrastructure to come up in towns of the state covered under the second phase of JNNURM.

When asked whether the civic body polls will be a referendum on the Congress' one year in office, he said in municipal elections 50 per cent of the votes depend on the nominees's personal image among people and the rest on the government's functioning and the party.

source:http://ibnlive.in.com