By IANS,
New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati Monday demanded Rs.2,000 crore from the central government to purchase power for the drought hit areas of the state.
Mayawati met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at his residence here, though she skipped an internal security meeting attended by chief ministers.
“We are buying power at the rate of Rs.8 per unit to provide electricity to the drought-hit areas. The state has to bear the burden of around Rs.2,000 crore to facilitate the purchase of power from other states,” she said.
“The central government should pay us the Rs.2,000 crore to ease the burden,” she added.
“To tackle the grim situation in the drought hit areas, the state government has drafted some short and long-term policies. The plan has been sent to the union agriculture ministry. We demand that our request is met forthwith,” she said.
She urged Manmohan Singh for speedy approval of another package of Rs.7,789 crore for drought relief measures in the affected areas in the state.
Mayawati said the state government was planning to provide 10-hour continuous power supply in the 58 drought hit districts of the state. She demanded an additional package of Rs.3,866 crore “to set up power and irrigation facilities in the drought prone and drought hit districts”.