Review of Ashok Gehlot government's discretionary decisions begins

JAIPUR: A cabinet sub-committee appointed by Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje today started reviewing the erstwhile Congress government's "discretionary decisions", and directed department heads to identify such projects and inform the Chief Secretary about them.

The sub-committee has asked the heads of six departments (names not to be revealed) to find out discretionary works taken up by the Gehlot government ahead of the assembly polls, Panchayati Raj and Rural Development Minister G C Kataria, who heads the panel, told reporters here.

The committee would take about six months to identify discretionary decisions taken in the last six months of the previous government, he said.

The sub-committee also discussed work plans for six departments, the minister said, adding that the sitting of the sub-committee would continue for next couple of days.

Asked whether the sub-committee would take up the change of site of Oil Refinery and Petrochemical Complex, whose foundation stone was laid by Congress president Sonia Gandhi before the announcement of assembly elections, Kataria said the setting up of the refinery issue was an old decision.

However, any new matter related to it, if comes to our knowledge, can be taken up for review, Kataria added.

On another question, whether the committee will consider BJP MPs' demand to probe land deals of Robert Vadra in the state during the Congress rule, Kataria categorically said, "We (cabinet sub-committee) do not have such an issue."

Early this week, five senior BJP MPs from Rajasthan had written to Raje demanding a probe into Vadra's (son-in-law of Sonia Gandhi) land deals in the state.

The Raje cabinet, in its first meeting on December 20, had decided to review the previous Congress government's discretionary decision taken in last six month.