29.9.11

UP gets 3 more districts



Prabudhnagar, Bhimnagar and Panchsheelnagar will be the three new districts of Uttar Pradesh. Chief minister Mayawati made an announcement about the formation of these districts on Wednesday. The step has been taken to provide better administration, she said after touring the three districts to start her election campaign. With this, UP now has 75 districts. In a swift move, the state government also posted the district magistrates and police chiefs in the new districts. Announcing the formation of Hapur as a district, Mayawati said the new district – Panchsheel Nagar – will be carved out of the existing Ghaziabad. Consisting of the existing Hapur and Garhmukteshwar tehsils of Ghaziabad, the district will comprise a third tehsil, Dhaulana, which has been formed for inclusion in the new district. With a population of 14.22 lakh, the headquarters of Panchsheelnagar will be at Hapur. Similarly, the Prabudhnagar district will be carved out of erstwhile Muzaffarnagar, comprising Shamli and Kairana tehsils. The new district will have a population of 12.54 lakh. The official creation of Shamli as a district is being regarded as chief minister Mayawati’s attempt to make good on the poll promise she made to her vote bank ahead of the previous assembly elections in 2007. With the state ready to go to the polls again in 2012, the chief minister will play the caste card this time, reaching out to the majority Jat community in the region.



PANCHSHEELNAGAR : Population: 14.2 lakh; HQ: Hapur. It will be carved out of the existing Ghaziabad & comprise Hapur & Garhmukteshwar tehsils of Ghaziabad and a new tehsil, Dhaulana



PRABUDHNAGAR : Population: 12.54 lakh; HQ: Shamli. It will be carved out of erstwhile Muzaffarnagar, comprising Shamli & Kairana tehsils



BHIMNAGAR : Population: 22.12 lakh; HQ: Not decided. It would be formed by joining Sambhal and Chandausi tehsils of Moradabad, along with Gunaur tehsil of the existing Badaun district



Bhimnagar district, Mayawati said, would be formed by joining Sambhal and Chandausi tehsils of Moradabad, along with Gunaur tehsil of the existing Badaun district. Apart from three tehsils, the district will also comprise seven development blocks and have a population of 22.12 lakh. Though the district headquarters have not been identified yet, the chief minister said that it will be created in the centre of the three tehsils for easy access. Attributing the decision to form smaller administrative units to the spirit of Dalit icon Bhim Rao Ambedkar the Chief Minister said small units helped in better administration. Playing the trusted caste card, Mayawati also talked about reservations for Muslims and Jats, adding that there was an urgent need for quota in accordance with their population. She had, in this connection, written a letter recently to the Union government in this connection. Mayawati also said there should be a bench of the High Court in western UP. Using the district formation plank to articulate her familiar grouse against the Centre, Mayawati also said that the state government had undertaken several schemes for the over all development of western UP. Most schemes –like the International airport at Jewar, the Ganga expressway as well as the Upper Ganga Canal Expressway – have all been delayed because the Union government has dragged its feet on giving approvals to the state government. Development of Bundelkhand, Mayawati said, has suffered for the same reasons.

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