BENGALURU: In his second term as a Union minister, D V Sadananda Gowda is looking forward to completing a lot of projects he had previously taken up during his stints in various ministries, especially for his home state, Karnataka.
He lauded PM Modi for choosing a 2.0 team packed with members known for their sincerity, honesty and commitment. It may be recalled that Sadananda Gowda is seen as one of the cleanest Chief Ministers of Karnataka and enjoyed a squeaky clean image even as a central minister.
Having handled the posts of Law Minister, Railways Minister, Minister for Statistics and Planning as well as taking over the Chemicals and Fertilisers Ministry after HN Ananth Kumar’s death, Gowda says there is a lot more work to be done and that he is raring to have another go, working this time around, with greater speed.
For Karnataka, having Gowda at the centre is likely to result in more attention to the state’s woes. As Law Minister, Gowda had rendered his assistance to Karnataka in water disputes while as the Railways minister, he had worked on setting up the suburban rail service for Bengaluru.
Talking about the Chemicals and Fertilizers Ministry, Gowda said, “Five of our important fertilizer plants in Ramagundam, Barauni, Talcher, Sindri and Gorakhpur that had shut down are being revived at a cost of Rs 15,000 crore. With this the costs will go down and people will benefit.”
‘More work at greater speed’
What are your priorities as Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers?
This is my second stint and the aim is to do more work at a greater speed.
Other areas of focus?
I am working to make several medicines cheaper, including generic drugs and cancer medicines.
How can you help Karnataka mitigate the effects of drought?
As Law Minister I helped in the Cauvery water Case, the Upper Krishna Case and in other river water issues.
Will you continue your push for sub-urban rail for Bengaluru?
As Railways minister, I worked on setting up suburban rail with Rs 17,000 crore approval in six locations --Nelamangala, Ramanagaram, Chickballapur and so on with HN Ananth Kumar.