Friday, July 7 2006 11:08 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Jaipur: Rajasthanis settled abroad, particularly in the US, have plans to invest in their state. A notable proposal is a Rs.400-million fully equipped heart centre.

This was conveyed to Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje at a recent conference of the Rajasthan Association of North Americans (RANA) in the US. Raje is on a 15-day tour of the US and Britain and is to return to India July 10.

The heart centre will be set up by a group of doctors led by surgeon Samin Sharma with support from the state government in the Jagatpura area of Jaipur, official sources said. Raje will lay the foundation stone in September.

According to Sharma, the heart centre will be completed by 2009. The government has allotted 7,600 square feet of land for the purpose.

Another Rajasthani, Sushil Goyal, has announced plans to construct a five-star hotel and a shopping mall worth Rs.1.3 billion, for which too land has been allotted.

The construction work, to be set up near Jawahar Circle here, will start soon, the sources said.

Rajasthanis abroad have also decided to contribute Rs.20 million for the mid-day-meal scheme in Rajasthan schools.