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New districts fail to meet norms
The three new districts created recently by the Mayawati government – Panchsheel Nagar, Prabuddha Nagar and Bhimnagar – fail to meet the parameters required for the creation of a district in the state.
The three new districts created recently by the Mayawati government – Panchsheel Nagar, Prabuddha Nagar and Bhimnagar – fail to meet the parameters required for the creation of a district in the state.
A government order of 1992-1993 provides for six basic standards to create new districts in the state, an official said.
These include a population of 15 lakh as per 1991 census, an area of 5,000 sq km, three tehsils, 10 development blocks, 12 police stations and 300 lekhpal areas.
But a close scrutiny shows each of the new districts fails to meet all the norms, say government officials.
“For example, Panchsheel Nagar fails to meet the population criteria even after the 2011 census,” said an official from the revenue department. It also has a smaller area and fewer development blocks and areas under lekhpal.
Prabuddha Nagar fails to meet the minimum requirements vis-à-vis population, area, tehsils, development blocks and areas under lekhpal.
Bhimnagar also fails to meet the criteria on the front of area, development blocks and lekhpal areas. Chief secretary Anoop Mishra was not available for comments.
A senior government official, however, said the standards set in 1993 were not binding on the government. The decision to create new districts was taken in view of local needs.
“The entire exercise has been undertaken in haste in view of the impending assembly elections, it is a political gimmick,” said state Congress spokesman Subodh Srivastav. “Ideally, the government should have set up a commission to study the issue before going ahead with the exercise.”
