Mayawati plans to split U.P. into four States

With Uttar Pradesh heading towards Assembly elections in 2012, Chief Minister Mayawati has played the biggest political gamble aimed at the division of the State into four smaller states — Purvanchal (eastern region) , Bundelkhand, Avadh Pradesh (central region) and Pashchim Pradesh (western region). The proposal to split the State into four parts, and to thus end the existence of Uttar Pradesh, was approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday. The Cabinet meeting was presided over by the Chief Minister.



Ms. Mayawati said a resolution to this effect would be tabled in the forthcoming winter session of the State Assembly, beginning November 21, and then sent to the Centre. “Since the creation of new states under Article 3 of the Constitution can be done only with the Central government's approval a positive response on the Bahujan Samaj Party government's proposal is expected from the Centre,” Ms. Mayawati said.

She claimed that Tuesday's all-important Cabinet decision was taken keeping in mind the aspirations of the people of these regions and “on popular demand.”

Interestingly, the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister decided to move a House resolution on the creation of small states after four years since she first raised the issue at a public meeting on October 9, 2007, and at a time when the Assembly polls were round the corner. All this while, the Chief Minister had also ignored the Opposition demand on moving a resolution on the subject even as she wrote two letters to the Prime Minister on the issue.

Mayawati's decision to divide U.P. into four small states being the only difference from her earlier stand when she had advocated the trifurcation of the State into Purvanchal, Bundelkhand and Pashchim (western) Pradesh.

“Small states and administrative units facilitated in better and integrated development, better maintenance of law and order and provision of more facilities to the people,” she told journalists after the Cabinet meeting.

In fact, her take on moving the proposal on the reorganisation of U.P. was related to its size and population, which created a multiplicity of problems.”

With a population of 19.95 crore according to the 2011 census, Uttar Pradesh is not only the country's largest state in terms of numbers, it accounted for 16 per cent of the country's population,” Ms. Mayawati said. She said in addition to its population, the geographical area of the State measured up to about 2.41 lakh sq km.

Using the opportunity to score political points over the Opposition parties, Ms. Mayawati slammed the Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party and the Samajwadi Party for pursuing wrong policies, which deterred balanced development of the State and resulted in its backwardness. The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister added that most numbers of Prime Ministers belonged to the State, “but they have failed to take constructive steps towards developing the backward areas.”

Ms. Mayawati mentioned the special incentive package of Rs. 80,000 crore demanded from the Centre and her subsequent meeting with the Prime Minister. She regretted the lack of response from the Centre.

Even as Ms. Mayawati emphasised on the need to divide U.P. into smaller states, she attacked the Central governments headed by the Congress and the BJP for taking no steps towards this end.

The number of districts each proposed State would incorporate was not mentioned by the Chief Minister.