GANDHINAGAR - Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is waiting for Lok Sabha elections to end to implement an elaborate plan to ensure 24 hours water supply in the state capital as a ‘gift’ to Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani, an official said Tuesday.

Advani is seeking re-election for the fifth time from the Gandhinagar Lok Sabha seat. The chief minister is sure of his victory and wants to announce the plan to show his support.

‘The water supply project involves effective utilisation of rain water harvesting methods by the end of 2009 to ensure the state capital never runs out of water,’ a senior official in the chief minister’s office here told IANS on condition of anonymity.

He said building bye-laws would be changed few months after the Lok Sabha poll to make rain water harvesting mandatory for all residential and government buildings in the municipal limits of Gandhinagar.

The government would spend about Rs.3 billion to realise the ambitious project through public-private partnership in which the partner firm would provide the necessary expertise and equipment.

The official said the government would soon call a meeting of senior officials of the Gujarat Urban Development Department to discuss the implementation of the rain water harvesting plan.