Uttar Pradesh: From drain to gain

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Vinod Anand

10 November, 2011

It is said that Uttaranchal is a liability on UP With no resources of their own, the hill districts were totally dependent on the parent state. Now, UP can breathe a bit freely.

IT IS said that Uttaranchal is a liability on UP With no resources of their own, the hill districts were totally dependent on the parent state. Now, UP can breathe a bit freely. The assembly debate on Uttaranchal reflected this sentiment. Today, we may be giving a farewell to hill legislators. But, in the next few years, the Uttaranchal will re-join UP as it is not an economically feasible state. Political hyperbole? Perhaps.

But the fact is that the new state has few resources of its own. There are no big industries barring BHEL in Hardwar and the hundred rice mills dotting the terai region. But, the raw material for these mills will come from UP. Earlier, UP had to earmark over Rs 1,000 crores for non-plan expenditure for the hill state. Of it, only Rs 500 crore was given by the Centre as hill assistance. The rest had to be borne by the state. Economists say that the new hill state is likely to face a financial crisis. I think that UP served as a buffer for Uttaranchal. The economics shows it all. Of UP’s revenue of around Rs 27,000 crores, Uttaranchal’s share is just Rs 600 crores, while its expenditure stood at Rs 3600 crores. Once the new state comes into being, its expenditure is likely to touch Rs 4,000 crore.

What UP will lose is its green cover and its place on the tourist map UP will be left with only 2.3 per cent of green cover, the lowest in the country. Undivided UP had 40.97 lakh hectares of forest area, with Uttaranchal accounting or 34.28 lakh hectares. Added to it would be 37,519 hectares of Haridwar, which will form part of Uttaranchal. UP will have less than 6.5 lakh hectare of forest cover. I think that Uttar Pradesh’s green sheen will be gone.