Ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections next year, the Congress is trying its hardest to highlight the deficiencies and corruption in the Mayawati government.
Earlier this week, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia wrote to Chief Minister Mayawati, expressing concern at the tardy progress and widespread irregularities in the implementation of the Bundelkhand package.
For the Congress, Bundelkhand has a special significance as general secretary Rahul Gandhi focussed attention on this backward region, leading to the Planning Commission awarding the package. The fact that the State government has not implemented it properly means the Congress cannot derive much benefit from its bid to push for development.
Mr. Ahluwalia's December 19 letter is, therefore, an attempt to focus attention on this issue.
Farmers were being supplied sub-standard pipes and sick goats, he has said. Calling for greater transparency in the award of contracts for the project, he has asked for greater support for implementation.
The letter comes in the wake of repeated demands made by Ms. Mayawati for additional resources from the Centre for development of the State.
Mr. Ahluwalia has said Rs. 3,606 crore was already given to the State government as a part of the package and the schemes were to be completed over a three-year period. However, progress has been slow: “Since it has been more than 18 months since the amount was disbursed... it was expected that the State government would have implemented about half the work,” he said, adding: “The physical progress on the scheme has only been around 25 per cent and the financial progress has also been similar.”
Mr. Ahluwalia has also flagged the irregularities in the purchase of HDPI pipes for irrigation projects, which were to be provided free to Dalit, tribal, small and marginal farmers and at a contribution of 25 per cent of the cost to those with bigger holdings.
The contract had specified that all pipes were to have ISI marks at a designated place. But, “our team found out that pipes supplied had two quality standards as some of the pipes had ISI marks and some did not.”
Mr. Ahluwalia has suggested that farmers be given cash grants to buy equipment and asked the State government to repair damaged wells. The State government allegedly provided sick goats to the unsuspecting people of Bundelkhand: “[This] has led to the death of other goats [of the herd] and insurance claims have also not been cleared,” says the letter.
