Blame the Centre

Mayawati's list of complaints against the UPA government is growing by the day

Pradeep Kapoor Lucknow

The growing confrontation between the UPA and Mayawati government in UP has affected development in the state. Much significance is being attached to the chief minister's absence at the two-day National Development Council (NDC) meeting held in Delhi recently, where UP sent a cabinet minister to represent the state.

In her written speech distributed at the NDC meeting, Mayawati expressed displeasure over the finalisation of the 11th Five Year Plan without consulting the states. Recently, Mayawati reiterated her demand for a special package of Rs 80,000 crore for building infrastructure in Bundelkhand and eastern UP. The expert committee in Delhi had earlier rejected her demand by saying it would lead to financial indiscipline. Two rounds of discussion have been held between the UP and central government. The Mayawati government has demanded a package of Rs 7,016 crore from the Centre for nine drought-affected districts of Bundelkhand and Vindhyachal regions.

During the NDC meeting, Mayawati's written speech made it clear that her government would make an investment of Rs 55,000 crore and achieve the target of additional power generation of 10,000mw in the 11th Five Year Plan. On several occasions in the past, Mayawati has blamed Delhi for adopting a partisan role on power generation. She alleged that the Centre had not given to UP its rightful share of power from central projects in the state. The state’s share from the Singrauli and Rehind power projects is only 32 per cent, while other states were getting 50 to 60 per cent of the share from central power projects. Mayawati blamed the UPA government for not allocating any mega power project for UP in the 11th Five Year Plan. “Had the UPA government allocated one mega power project to the state, it would have helped in fighting the power crisis in a big way,” she claimed.

Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde retaliated by saying that as per the Constitution, the responsibility for distribution and generation of electricity was with the state government and the Centre only plays a 'supplementary' role. “I think the chief minister needs to appreciate this constitutional provision. Over the past 10 years, UP has added only 536 MW of new capacity, whereas they should have added more than 3,000 MW in view of their requirement,” he said. The power minister reminded Mayawati that the plant load factor (PLF) of power plants in the state had declined to 56 per cent as against the national average of 77 per cent, thereby exacerbating the shortage.

The list of complaints is endless. After the terrorist attacks in Faizabad, Varanasi and Lucknow, Mayawati blamed central intelligence agencies for not giving advance warning on the possible movement of terrorist gangs. Union Minister of State for Home Sri Prakash Jaiswal, however, said central agencies had warned the state about terrorist activities. Mayawati blamed Delhi for infiltration of terrorists through unguarded international borders. She accused the Centre of non-cooperation on dealing with diseases such as Japanese encephalitis, which kills thousands, mostly children, in eastern UP every year. She urged the UPA government to fulfil its promise of setting up a branch of the National Institute of Virology at Gorakhpur.

The UP Congress Committee (UPCC) has demanded a white paper regarding the expenditure of funds. "The government should issue a white paper regarding the spending of central funds meant for various welfare schemes, not just of this year but also during the tenure of Mulayam Singh Yadav," UPCC president Rita Bahuguna Joshi told Hardnews. Joshi accused both the regimes of not utilising the money which she claimed had been hiked thrice in as many years for the state's development. She alleged that funds worth crores for the development programme for backward people have not been properly utilised.

The Mayawati government held the Centre responsible for fertiliser shortage. UP Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh said that the Congress was trying to tarnish Mayawati's image by giving misleading statements about the shortage. He said the state is only responsible for proper distribution of fertiliser while the Centre had to ensure a regular supply. Singh informed that Mayawati had written to the prime minister in May and July to ensure supply of 49 metric lakh tonnes of fertiliser. Several letters were sent to Union Minister for Petroleum and Fertiliser Ramvilas Paswan and Railway Minister Laloo Prasad to make arrangements for rail wagons, but the state only received about seven lakh metric tonnes.

While this bureaucratic war of words spirals, the people of UP have been left to their own fate. Between the Centre and the state, where should the people go for basic rights?