PHOTO: SUBIR ROY

HER HOUR: BSP supremo Mayawati handing over a letter to Governor T.V. Rajeswar staking her claim to form government, in Lucknow on Saturday.

LUCKNOW: With Ms. Mayawati set to take oath as the new Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh on Sunday, the chairmen and advisers of State government undertakings, appointed by the outgoing Chief Minister, Mulayam Singh, resigned from their posts on Saturday. Mr. Singh has accepted their resignations.

Notable among those who put in their papers were: the chairman of the high-profile Uttar Pradesh Development Council (UPDC), Amar Singh, and the chairman of the U.P. Rajya Kisan Mandi Parishad, Shivpal Singh. The chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Agro, Natthu Singh; the Adviser, Higher Education, Rajnikant Verma; and the chairman of the U.P. Nagarik Parishad (Citizen's Board), Om Pal Singh "Nidar" were among the others who resigned.

The UPDC headed by the Samajwadi Party national general secretary was easily the most sought-after State undertaking set up when Mr. Singh became Chief Minister in 2003. The Development Council was established the same year, with Mr. Amar Singh roping in his friends in industry, information technology, education, health and films as members.

The members

Those who were drafted in as members were: Ramdas M. Pai, Adi Godrej, Anil Dhirubhai Ambani, Kumaramangalam Birla, K.B. Kamath, Pratap C. Reddy, Nandan M. Nilekeni, Subrata Roy Sahara, S.H. Khan and film actor Amitabh Bachchan.

Since its inception in 2003, the UPDC has held a dozen meetings. It was set up with the objective of achieving all-round development of the State, and in particular to give a fillip to industrial development. Among the steps taken to ensure the development of the State by inviting investment in different sectors were development of hi-tech cities in selected locations, constitution of a sub-committee on I.T. headed by Mr. Nilekeni and constitution of a sub-committee on potable drinking water.

Mr. Bachchan headed the sub-committee on entertainment tax. The New Energy Policy, 2003, the Industrial and Service Sector Investment Policy, 2004, the Sugar Policy, 2004, the New Special Economic Zone Policy and the Metro Rail Scheme linking Ghaziabad to New Delhi were formulated in this period.

Uncertain fate

With the regime change, the fate of the UPDC hangs in the balance. Following Mr. Singh's resignation it is almost certain that its members may also quit. Speculation is rife that the council will be disbanded and a new avatar will take its place.

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