Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia will head a high-profile, representative Advisory Committee for overseeing the implementation of drought mitigation strategies in the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
The government has approved a Rs. 766 crore-special package for drought mitigation in the region over a period of three years from 2009-10.
The region comprises seven districts of Uttar Pradesh (Banda, Chitrakut, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Jhansi, Lalitpur and Mahoba) and six districts of Madhya Pradesh (Chhatarpur, Damoh, Datia, Panna, Sagar and Tikamgarh).
Members of the committee include Ministers of State for Planning V. Narayanasamy and Union Minister of State for Rural Development Pradeep Kumar Jain ‘Aditya,' as also Planning Commission Members Abhijit Sen, Mihir Shah, B.K. Chaturvedi and, Member-Secretary Sudha Pillai.
MPs from the Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are the other members.
The Bundelkhand package got an impetus after Congress general-secretary Rahul Gandhi took up the issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
