The name of the game

Kalyan Singh, the BJP’s Chief Minister-in-waiting, has already criticised the tendency to name monuments and districts after those who have never had any association with Uttar Pradesh. Both Chhatrapati Sahuji Maharaj and Mahatma Jyotiba Phule were great social reformers from Maharashtra but never set foot in Uttar Pradesh.

Rattled by the Dalitisation of the State, Om Prakash Singh, a senior minister in Mayawati’s Cabinet, who is also close to Kalyan Singh, pleaded with the Chief Minister to name the new district carved out of Varanasi after BJP ideologue Deen Dayal Upadhyaya and not to include Ramnagar tehsil in the new district. The Chief Minister conceded Singh’s demand about Ramnagar but she did not name the new district after Upadhyaya. In fact, Chandauli has the distinction of being the first district to retain its original name.

If the BJP wants to cash in on its alliance with the BSP in Uttar Pradesh at the national level, the BSP too wants to do the same. “By naming the districts after Dalit social reformers, the BSP wants to send a message to the Dalits and most-backwards that it is trying to instill a sense of pride among the community,” says social scientist V.N. Seth.

This is precisely the reason why Mayawati has accorded top priority to the construction of Ambedkar Park in Lucknow’s posh Hazratganj area, at an approximate cost of Rs 50 crore. She has got a 30-foot statue of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar installed in the park besides instructing the engineers to erect a monument, whose height should be at least double that of the adjoining five-star Taj Mahal Hotel’s tomb.

Sociologist Upendra Sharma describes this entire exercise as a cultural revolution. A large section of BSP followers are Buddhists and Mayawati has named three districts after Lord Buddha. She named the district created within Allahabad, Kaushambi, after a well-known Buddhist pilgrim centre, while the one carved out of Ghaziabad was named Gautam Buddha Nagar, and the one formed out of Aligarh was named Mahamaya Nagar after Gautam Buddha’s mother.

Similarly, Gajraula Women’s Degree College in Moradabad has been named Ramabai Ambedkar Degree College, Sasani Gate Crossing in Meerut has been named Ahilyabai Holkar Crossing, Kol tehsil building in Aligarh as Siddhartha Kol tehsil building, while the Sarsal bus depot is now Buddha Vihar Bus depot and a PCS coaching hostel in Meerut is Gautam Buddha Hostel. During her last tenure, she re-christened Vidhan Sabha Marg in Lucknow as Dr Ambedkar Marg.

Like her bete-noire, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, Mayawati too has little regard for rules and conventions. She sought the approval of the State Cabinet for the creation of a district only after she had already announced it. Similarly, the approval of the Revenue Board too was sought later, leaving little scope for it to turn down or amend her proposal.

In her zeal to consolidate her vote bank, Mayawati does not realise the cost her announcement will have on the already cash-strapped State Exchequer. The creation of a new district costs the Government Rs 125 to 150 crore. The State Government will have to spend approximately Rs 1,200 crore on providing basic infrastructure like offices and homes for various officials besides incurring an annual expenditure of Rs 12 crore on maintenance of buildings and salaries to employees. Considering the annual plan size of the State budget is Rs 7,080 crore, it is certainly a staggering amount. According to Revenue Board norms, a district should have a population of 15 lakh, an area of 5,000 square km, at least 10 developmental blocks, three tehsils, 300 lekhpal regions, and 12 police stations. There should be one district magistrate, one superintendent of police, Chief Medical Officer, about 30 other officials under the Chief Development Officer responsible for development work, besides staff for at least 25 other departments.

The fact remains, however, that of the 17 districts created in Uttar Pradesh in the past 15 years, there is absolutely no infrastructure in 12 of them with only Mau and Hardwar having been fully developed and Siddharthanagar and Ferozabad being partially developed. The credit for Mau’s development goes to former Union Minister Kalpnath Rai and that of Hardwar to the Kumbha Mela organised every six or 12 years. The situation is so pathetic that the Government is yet to decide the location of headquarters in at least eight districts.

Mayawati is not the first Chief Minister to have embarked upon a district-creating spree. Her two predecessors, Narain Dutt Tiwari and Mulayam Singh Yadav, too created a number of districts. Tiwari created five districts — Siddharthanagar, Mau, Hardwar, Ferozabad and Sonbhadra — within a two-and-a-half month period between December 16, 1988, and March 3, 1989. Mulayam Singh Yadav announced three districts — Mahoba, Padrauna and Bhadohi — within four-and-a-half months between February 9, 1994, and June 30, 1994. But Mayawati demolished all records by creating six districts within a span of only 45 days between April 5, 1997, and May 20, 1997. One hopes she does not attempt to improve’ this record.