By IANS,
Lucknow : Following repeated onslaughts from Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi about the poor electricity power supply in the state, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has blamed the central government for the situation.
Issuing a detailed official note – white paper – in this regard, Mayawati has claimed that no government other than the one led by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has cared to address the energy need of the state.
The white paper followed Rahul Gandhi’s visit to his parliamentary constituency Amethi where violent protests were held against erratic power supply last week.
A copy of the white paper, “Who is responsible for the poor state of power in UP,” has been sent to Gandhi.
Tracing the history of power generation in the state right from 1947 when it stood at just 155 MW to now at 4700 MW, Mayawati has pointed out that even during her three brief stints in the past, she had managed to ensure enhancement of power generation despite all odds.
“The gap between the supply and demand of power in UP has continued to increase simply because none of the non-BSP governments ever cared to pay attention to the power needs of the state,” the paper reads.
Refuting Gandhi’s charge that Uttar Pradesh was far behind in power generation, the chief minister said, “The central government-run power units in UP were generating as much as about 8,700 MW, but the state gets a paltry 2,700 MW out of it, in accordance with the Gadgil Plan.”
“It was high time that Gadgil Plan was scrapped and Uttar Pradesh was allocated a share in the ratio of its population.”
She also alleged “poor allocation” of coal for the state’s thermal generators by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the centre.
The chief minister has listed out a series of new power projects initiated during her rule under the public-private partnership.
She also claimed that despite the “centre’s non-cooperation, UP would become self-sufficient in power generation by 2012.”
Mayawati has also hit out at the central government for not allocating even one of the seven new mega thermal power projects of 28,000 MW to be set up in different parts of the country.