OLITICS: UTTAR PRADESH Weighing The Pieces, One By One In their initial years, Bundelkhand and Poorvanchal will be chained to the Centre for assistance OUTLOOK

NARENDRA BISHT Little to go on A village in Bundelkhand POLITICS: UTTAR PRADESH Weighing The Pieces, One By One In their initial years, Bundelkhand and Poorvanchal will be chained to the Centre for assistance OUTLOOK How will the four new states—if they are created out of present-day Uttar Pradesh, as Mayawati desires—fare? Poorvanchal, the biggest of the lot, both in terms of area and population, and having an estimated 32 Lok Sabha constituencies, will remain the poorest vis-a-vis agriculture and industrial growth. Per capita food production and industrial development tot up the lowest figures in this region. According to a study carried out by the department of economics of Lucknow University, the per capita food production of the region was barely 196 kg per annum, compared to 223 kg in what will be Awadh Pradesh, and 241 kg in western UP. Ironically enough, impoverished Bundelkhand, which has severe water scarcity and is widely perceived to be starving, shows the highest per capita food production at 277 kg—but this is because it is sparsely populated (about 82 lakh). Poorvanchal, in comparison, has six times that figure (6.6 crore), followed by Paschim Pradesh (6.1 crore) and Awadh Pradesh (3 crore). On the industrial front, however, the picture is bleak in both Poorvanchal and Bundelkhand regions. "There were only 1.8 industrial units per one lakh population in Poorvanchal and 1.7 in Bundelkhand, in sharp contrast to 6.6 in Awadh Pradesh and 10.6 in the rich and affluent Paschim Pradesh, neighbouring Delhi, the study found. Prof Arvind Mohan of Lucknow University is of the view that the division of Uttar Pradesh into four states would prove a boon for each of the proposed states. "But for Poorvanchal and Bundelkhand, that would require special financial support from the Centre. Paschim Pradesh and Awadh Pradesh will be able to achieve sustained growth on their own steam," he says. According to him, "the need for infrastructure development would be the least in Awadh Pradesh, followed by Paschim Pradesh, which has witnessed much urbanisation in recent years. However Poorvanchal and Bundelkhand would require an initial heavy dose of finance from the Centre for development of infrastructure that may eventually change the lives of people" in these much neglected regions. TEXT SIZE    PRINT SHARE COMMENTS ALSO IN THIS STORY    POLITICS: UTTAR PRADESH The Heartbreak Gambit Mayawati sets her own pace for the elections by proposing the division of India's largest state SHARAT PRADHAN OPINION The Mayawati Math She's seeking a role beyond a state, but reorganising UP is overdue NILANJAN MUKHOPADHYAY FILED IN:  AUTHORS:  OUTLOOK  PEOPLE:  MAYAWATI  TAGS:  POLITICS | NEW STATES  SECTION:  NATIONAL  PLACES:  UTTAR PRADESH