Akhilesh Yadav

by

Bundelkhand needs long-term policies and investment for its development

 

This is the press release from Indian Prime Minister’s office

————————————————————-

http://pib.nic.in/newsite/mbErel.aspx?relid=138741

Press Information Bureau
Government Of India
Prime Minister’s Office
(10-April, 2016 18:20 IST )
Union Government commits for Bundelkhand (UP) development

Prime Minister directs a high level review of drought situation in Bundelkhand, Vidharbha and Marathwada. First such review about Bundelkhand was held in Prime Minister’s Office on 09.04.2016. Chief Secretary UP and his team made a presentation and Secretaries of the concerned departments of Government of India were also present.

Relief Measures

High Level Committee chaired by the Union Home Minister has recommended Rs. 1304 crore for drought relief to UP under National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF). The State Government would disburse the relief amount directly into the bank accounts of farmers within a week. It was decided that Government of UP will forward a Memorandum for Rabi 2016 soon. Ministry of Home Affairs will examine if an exemption can be given under SDRF on 25% limit and continuation of distribution of food component beyond 90 days.

Drinking Water : Chief Secretary, UP informed that a comprehensive contingency plan to address the drinking water situation in Bundelkhand region especially Mahoba, Chitrakoot and Banda districts of Chitrakoot division are ready. He further assured that drinking water will be made available.

Employment & Livelihood : Provision of extending mandays from 100 to 150 under MNREGS in the Bundelkhand for financial year 2016-17 was approved. State Government will ensure distribution of Rs. 700 crore released under the labour component of MGNREGS directly to the eligible beneficiaries via electronic payment system.

It was decided that to provide alternate source of income National Rural Livelihood Mission would be strengthened and intensified and coverage would be extended to all the blocks.

Food Security : Chief Secretary, UP confirmed that NFSA has been implemented w.e.f. 01.01.2016. Accordingly, food grain allocation has been enhanced in Bundelkhand. State Government was advised to ensure Aadhar seeding of MNREGS beneficiaries and ration cards on high priority.

Bundelkhand Package

During the meeting, implementation of previous Bundelkhand package was high on agenda. It was brought to the notice that Rs. 264 crore was released by NITI Aayog on 31.03.2016 to complete the committed liabilities on ongoing projects in UP as a one-time grant. It was agreed that the State Government would ensure completion of all ongoing 37 Piped Water Schemes on priority. Further, the warehousing marketing infrastructure built under the package needs to be better utilized.

Drought Proofing

It was also decided that water tanks, building of dug wells, farm ponds would be taken up on priority under various projects and schemes for Bundelkhand. CEO, NITI Aayog in consultation with State Government will explore the possibility of taking up fresh projects for drought proofing from the resources available under the package for Bundelkhand region.

Agriculture

It was brought out that Sesame is the most important Kharif crop in Bundelkhand. It was agreed that MSP for Sesame for 2016-17 be announced expeditiously. A bonus of Rs. 20 for Bundelkhand region over and above the MSP shall be considered. State Government would finalise a procurement plan for Sesame in consultation with Secretary, Agriculture.

To focus on boosting agricultural production and productivity in Bundelkhand region State Government will send a proposal for introduction of a new sub scheme under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana.

Crop Insurance : It was noted that the coverage of crop insurance scheme in UP is between 7 to10% only. However, the coverage in Bundelkhand due to distress situation is around 30 percent. More than 250 crores in Rabi 2014-15 and around Rs. 180 crore in Kharif 2015 has been distributed as claims benefitting around 3.34 lakh and 2.16 lakh farmers respectively.

State Government was asked to ensure maximum coverage of farmers in the recently launched Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) and it was agreed that the State Government would hold district wise camps to ensure that both loanee and non-loanee farmers are covered in a campaign mode.

Irrigation

Secretary, Water Resources was requested to ensure release of funds on priority for the nine ongoing projects under Repair, Rejuvenation and Restoration (RRR) of water bodies.

CEO, NITI Aayog, Secretary (Water Resources), Principal Secretary (Irrigation), UP will meet on 12th April, 2016 to resolve various issues pertaining to Arjun Sahayak, Varuna and Banasagar irrigation projects. CEO NITI Aayog in consultation with State Government will also resolve the pending proposals of drinking water at the earliest.

Cooperative Federalism

It was also agreed that various development proposals especially under PMGSY, drinking water, village electrification etc. should have wider consultation with local public representatives especially Members of Parliament.

As per the Prime Minister’s vision and in the true spirit of cooperative federalism, Government of India and the State Government will together work for long term sustainable solutions to address the problem of vulnerable regions in natural distress.

***
AKT/HS
(Release ID :138741)

————————————————————

My view

This is good, but more needs to be done to deal with economic backwardness of Bundelkhand. Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh Governments are also doing many good things for their parts of the region. UP Chief Minister announced several projects worth Rs 1400 Crore for the region recently, while delivering the UP Budget (http://tinyurl.com/jhy94bx).  Uttar Pradesh asked Central Govt for a Rs 7000 crore Bundelkhand package. Packages are fine and necessary, and the region deserves it, but there is a need for a systemic & policy co-ordination between various Governments for long-term outcomes.  I believe there should be a high-powered Bundelkhand Development Council (Bundelkhand Vikas Parishad), chaired by either Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi or Home Minister, Shri Rajnath Singh, or Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitly, and with membership of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Sri Akhilesh Yadav and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Sri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, CEO of Niti Ayog and 2 Economists, to formulate comprehensive policies for long-term investment in and development of Bundelkhand. Significant encouragement including tax holidays and finance support should be provided to facilitate setting up of industries. This will generate employment and will help alleviate poverty.

 

Dr Yadu Singh/Sydney/11th April, 2016

http://www.twitter.com/dryadusingh

http://www.facebook.com/dryadusingh

by

Pankaj Saw died from a fall from the balcony in Macquarie Park, Sydney

Sydney, NSW 5th April, 2015

I received the sad and unfortunate news of the death of 29 years old Indian  IT professional, Pankaj Saw (working with Tech Mahindra for Optus) on 2nd April, 2015. Images of the white brick apartment block, located on the corner of Cottonwood Crescent and Waterloo Road, Macquarie Park, show a wooden railing missing from the top-floor balcony of the apartment where Mr Saw lived. Police are saying that the balcony railing gave way, leading to his fall 10 metres below on the concrete floor. A part of railing and his smashed phone were found nearby. He sustained severe head and internal injuries, leading to his death at the scene.

From reports, he was talking to someone on phone at the time of his fall. He had returned from India only a few weeks ago. He married to his wife in December 2014.

His wife, Amrita Gupta, is from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, the Parliamentary constituency of Indian Prime Minister, Mr Narendra Modi. She has met representatives at PM’s constituency office in Varanasi and the local Mayor, Mr Ram Gopal Mohale, and made a few requests. She has expressed her fears that her husband might have been killed by racist violence.

Local newspaper, Dainik Jagran reported the following story today. I was sent a link of the story by a Varanasi local man, Ashutosh Narayan Singh on Twitter today.

————————————————————————————————————————————————

Sun, 05 Apr 2015 01:17 AM (IST) http://m.jagran.com/uttar-pradesh/varanasi-city-12234096.html

वाराणसी : काशी की एक बेटी ने अपने सासद व प्रधानमंत्री नरेंद्र मोदी से पति का शव आस्ट्रेलिया से मंगाने की गुहार लगाई है। इस बाबत शनिवार को पीएम मोदी के संसदीय जनसम्पर्क कार्यालय में पत्र भेजा। जानकारी दी है कि पति की आस्ट्रेलिया में मौत हो गई है। आरोप लगाया कि वहां हो रही नस्लवादी कारणों से पति की हत्या की गई। पूरे प्रकरण की जांच की मांग की। इसके बाद परिजन महापौर रामगोपाल मोहले से भी मुलाकात की। महापौर ने विदेश मंत्री सुषमा स्वराज से वार्ता कर पूरी जानकारी दी। वहां से मृतक का पासपोर्ट समेत पूरा ब्योरा मांगा गया है। बताते हैं कि पाण्डेयघाट की रहने वाली अमृता गुप्ता के हाथ की मेंहदी अभी सूखी भी नहीं थी कि दो अप्रैल को आस्ट्रेलिया के सिडनी में टेक महेन्द्रा कंपनी में बतौर ईजीनियर कार्यरत पंकज की मौत की खबर आई। उन दोनों की शादी गत वर्ष दो दिसंबर को हुई थी। अमृता ने प्रधानमंत्री को भेजे गए पत्र में आशका जताई है कि उसके पति की मौत रेलिंग से गिरने के कारण नहीं हुई है बल्कि आस्ट्रेलिया में चल रहे नस्ली आतंकवाद की वजह से हुई है। अमृता ने इसकी जाच कराने के साथ ही पति के शव को शीघ्र भारत मंगाने के लिए प्रधानमंत्री से गुहार लगाई है।

——————————————————————————————————————————————————-

From all information available, Pankaj’s death was an accidental death and not due to any racist violence.

Contrary to exaggerated and mostly baseless reports of racist violence against Indians in Indian media in 2009-10, we did not, and still do not, believe we are subjected to any such thing in Australia.

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/man-dies-after-falling-from-thirdfloor-balcony-in-macquarie-park-20150402-1md6vq.html http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-02/man-dies-after-third-floor-balcony-fall-macquarie-park/6366608

Police in NSW, as a rule, do a thorough investigation and submit a report to the Coroner. Post-mortem examination is also done in all such deaths. After post-mortem examination, the body is handed over to the relatives.

Indian Consulate in Sydney takes responsibility for the transport of the body of any Indian citizen to India.

I will try to seek further information in regards to the investigation from the Indian Consulate tomorrow, Monday, 6th April, 2015, and will update this post.

Our heart-felt condolences go to Pankaj’s wife and his family in India.

R. I. P. Pankaj.

Dr Yadu Singh/Sydney, NSW, Australia

dryadusingh@gmail.com

http://www.twitter.com/dryadusingh

http://www.facebook.com/dryadusingh

PS: This post has been forwarded to relevant people in Varanasi, UP, India.

    

by

Why Akhilesh Yadav should be Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh?

English: The Flag of Samajwadi Party, India wi...

Image via Wikipedia

Sydney, 7th March, 2012

The biggest state [by population] in India, Uttar Pradesh [UP] had just completed the election for the Legislative Assembly. Samajwadi Party [SP] has won the majority of seats in the assembly [224 out of 403]. Previous Govt led by Chief minister, Mayawati was defeated squarely.

I know UP and UP politics well.

SP campaign in the state was led by Akhilesh Yadav [who was SP’s state President], who is currently a second term member of National Parliament, Lok Sabha, in New Delhi. Akhilesh has been educated in Sainik school and had engineering training from University of Sydney. He is in his late thirties.

With his style of politics, down to earth nature, effective networking, and intelligence, he managed to create a wave of support for his party, which led to this victory.

In contrast to Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab and many other states, Uttar Pradesh lags behind in development. Law and Order has also been a problem. Bureaucracy, as usual, is not that responsive to the needs of people. Political leadership has not been focussed on the core job-development. UP sends the largest number of federal MPs to the national Parliament and used to have the honour of having one of its MPs as the Prime Minister until early 1990s.

Prior to this incoming SP Govt, Bahujan Samaj Party [BSP] was ruling the state, after winning a majority of seats in the assembly in 2007. Before that SP was in Govt with the support of other parties. For a while, SP and BSP alternated in the Govt. With the clear majority this time too, hopefully the rule of minority Govts which needed support of other parties, thus creating some instability, has ended.

Now, the Govt can concentrate on development agenda. Roads and transport, quality health services, quality educational facilities, job opportunities, welfare assistance for the needy people, transparent and efficient governance, and Policing and human right issues need full attention. Many of these are possible only if there is more investment and industries in the state. Only then, there will be sufficient money to develop the state.

UP Govt must be able to reach out to all people and understand the needs and aspirations of all people. It must deliver what its people need and deserve. Everything must be streamlined.

UP Govt should order fast and professional reviews to understand causes for the poor state of development and to seek ways to remedy the shortcomings. UP has to figure out why it is not as developed or rich a Gujarat and other states.

UP has the potential to be  one of the most developed states, if not the number one state in the country, provided genuine and sincere efforts are made in this direction. Obviously, statues and other wastage of public money must never be allowed again. Populism must be balanced with real development work.

Uttar Pradesh leaders need to think out of box and can’t continue following same old style of governance. It is about time that UP Govt leaders start focussing on people lot more than they have done so far.

UP state MLAs must not be allowed to think themselves to be above law, and must conduct themselves as “public servants”, not as “Public masters”.

I have high regards for Neta Ji [Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav] who has been Chief Minister many times, and is an experienced, capable and a veteran leader. His experience and ability will of course be very handy.

I do believe however that it would be more effective if someone with new thought, outlook, energy, vision, ability to connect with today’s people and “can do” attitude is at the helm of the Govt, under the overall guidance of Neta Ji.

UP needs fast development, which needs fast, smart and out of box thinking to encourage investment in UP from within India and outside India.

To achieve this, UP needs a new style of leadership and Governance.

Akhilesh Yadav will be a perfect candidate who will be able to deliver these outcomes.

I am aware that elected MLAs will want to have Neta Ji to be the CM, which is perfectly understandable. If that is the case, it would also be reasonable to have a new ministry named “Minister for Development” with umbrella power over other ministries to pilot the development in UP. Akhilesh will obviously be the right choice for this position.

I wish and hope that UP turns the corner in all aspects of governance and development!

I do wish and hope that UP becomes number ONE state in India in all respects!

People of UP need it and of course, deserve it, no less!

Dr Yadu Singh

www.twitter.co/dryadusingh

www.facebook.com/dryadusingh

www.yadusingh.wordpress.com

Related articles