Politics over Bundelkhand once again came to the forefront with Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati on Monday demanding from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Rs 2000 crore to pay for power supply in drought hit regions of the state, including Bundelkhand.
Mayawati, who met Prime Minister Singh to place her demands, also sought a positive response from the Centre on a Rs 7789 crore package that her government had submitted to the agriculture ministry on different short and long term measures. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had upped the ante on Bundelkhand after leading a delegation of MPs from both UP and Madhya Pradesh to demand a Rs 8000 crore package and a separate regional authority for the area. The action had elicited sharp criticism from both the UP as well as MP chief ministers.
On Monday, Mayawati however maintained that her government was bying power at Rs 8 per unit to provide 10 hours of electricity supply to the drought-hit districts all over the state including Bundelkhand. While making her demand, she made references to the recommendations made by the AS Samra Committee on infrastructure development in drought-prone areas, which the Prime Minister had set up after the meetings with Rahul Gandhi. She said that her govenrment had already placed a demand for a Rs 3866 crore package to set up power and irrigation facilities based on the Samra committee recommendations.