The Hindu : National : Mayawati knocks at Governor’s door for package

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Mayawati knocks at Governor’s door for package

Special Correspondent

Urges him to exercise his influence on the Centre to get special area package sanctioned

Inside Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, under tight security, arrives at the main hall of her official residence on Friday to address a press conference.

LUCKNOW: Chief Minister Mayawati on Friday urged the Governor, T. V. Rajeswar, to exercise his influence on the Union Government to get the special area incentive package and other packages sanctioned at the earliest. Ms. Mayawati observed that the Governor should use his office in favour of the drought-stricken people of Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh.

Mr. Rajeswar visited the Bundelkhand region on January 22 and 23, where he reportedly expressed his dissatisfaction at the pace of the drought-relief measures. Responding to the Governor’s remarks, and in an apparent bid to clear certain “misconceptions”, the Chief Minister on Friday shot off a three-page missive to him. She slammed the previous state governments, as well as the Centre, for their failure to retrieve the situation in the region which has been in the throes of drought for the past four years.

Ms. Mayawati noted that in the 60 years since Independence, non- Bahujan Samaj Party governments had been in power in Uttar Pradesh for 57 years, particularly the Congress which ruled the State for about 38 years. The Chief Minister accused these governments of ignoring the cause of Bundelkhand as a result of which it was today the most backward region of the State.

The Chief Minister assailed the UPA Government at the Centre for not sanctioning the packages demanded by her and said that in her meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on May 26 last year she had asked for his assistance in the development of the State. Thereafter, the Rs.80,000-crore special area incentive package for Bundelkhand and Purvanchal was presented to the Prime Minister on July 20, she added.

Stating that no action had been taken on the packages demanded, the Chief Minister said a Rs.3,750-crore special package was given for the Vidharba region in 2006 by the Central Government.

Ms. Mayawati accused the previous Samajwadi Party regime of taking no concrete measures for Bundelkhand, which was reflected in no drought relief money being sanctioned for Banda, Chitrakoot, Mahoba and Hamirpur in the past two years, whereas Rs.1 crore was released for Jalaun in 2005-06 and Rs.81 lakh for Jhansi district in 2006-07 by the Mulayam Singh regime.

The Chief Minister apprised the Governor of the measures taken by her government for mitigating the sufferings of the drought-hit people. She further apprised him of shortcomings in National Rural Employment Guarantee Act scheme and said some public measures like construction of school buildings, panchayat bhawans and cleaning of water drains in villages should be incorporated into the rural employment scheme.

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