PM targets Maya, says her govt lax in spending central grants

Banda, April 30: Targeting the Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on April 30 said it did not show desired activeness in spending additional central grants for development of Bundelkhand which has become economically the most backward region of the country.

"As expected, the Uttar Pradesh government did not show activeness in spending the additional central grants. We hope the situation will improve," he told a public meeting here sharing the dais with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

The Prime Minister said proper attention was not paid to the region, running through UP and MP, wih the result that it had degenerated into economically the most backward region of the country.

He said the pace of development in Bundelkhand had slowed down during non-Congress regimes in Uttar Pradesh and at the Centre.

Emphasising the need for better coordination among Central, UP and MP governments for successful implementation of the package, Singh said political differences should be kept aside for the development of Bundelkhand.

The Prime Minister said his government had approved a package of Rs 7266 crore for the region in 2009 and released additional grants of Rs 1800 crore in the last two fiscals for UP and MP.

More central funds would be released after utilisation of this amount, he said. .

PTI