Lost in politics’ revolving door

Even projects announced by VIPs who figured more recently on the state’s horizon are dying a slow death. Former chief minister and BSP leader Mayawati’s pet project, the Rs 100-crore Ambedkar Park in Lucknow, was lying forgotten till CM Kalyan Singh was recently forced to act on it. The multi-crore, mega-sports complex launched by ex-Samajwadi Party CM Mulayam Singh Yadav in his native village — Sainfai in Etawah district — and former Union minister Kalpnath Rai’s development plans for Mau town are also gathering dust.

Gorakhpur — where floods wrecked havoc this time — had been on the fast track to development once. Local boy Vir Bahadur Singh had launched schemes worth Rs 20,000 crore here during his tenure as minister and CM. But once Singh went to the Centre as Union communications minister in 1988 and died the year after, the projects gradually lost their pace, before coming to a halt.

Now, the Gorakhpur Industrial Development Area (GIDA) — planned to be built on about 2,000 acres on theoutskirts of the city — awaits almost the same fate as that of Amethi’s Jagdishpur Industrial Area. Less than 50 units are presently functioning in the area, and most of them are in the red.

“Most of the factory owners thrived on subsidies,” explains Kripa Shankar Chaube, a local businessman. “Once the tax-holiday period was over, they declared their units sick to avoid making payment to financial institutions.”

The Ramgarh Tal complex — as planned by Vir Bahadur Singh — was to have a Baudh Vihar, a tourist rest house, an irrigation rest house and a planetarium. However, though most of the buildings are almost complete, the complex is yet to become functional for lack of some doors and an electrical connection. Uttar Pradesh Minister of State for Youth Affairs Amar Mani Tripathi, hailing from Gorakhpur, says machines worth Rs 12 crore are lying abandoned in the planetarium alone for the past 10 years.

The floods may have further pushed back the inauguration of the complex. Buildings constructednext to the picturesque Ramgarh lake are now half under water.

The flood victims whose houses were washed away have also taken shelter in the marble guest-houses of the complex, taking their cattle along with them. As Babu Lal, the caretaker puts it, “It’s good to see these buildings being put to some use after such a long period.”

Much worse has been the fate of the planned 500-km-long Saryu Canal. It was to run through Bahraich to Barhalganj in Gorakhpur via Barabanki, Gonda, Basti and Sant Kabir Nagar districts. Though the work is 80 per cent complete, the canal has been lying abandoned for the past 10 years. As a result, imported machines worth several crores meant for digging the canal are practically reduced to junk.

Of the Rs 2,500 crore reportedly needed to finish the project still, the Uttar Pradesh Government sanctioned just Rs 200 crore in the 1998-99 budget. “The amount is peanuts. But at least some beginning has been made after all these years of inactivity,” says Tripathi, who hadparted ways from the Congress to join the Loktantrik Congress — which is supporting the BJP Government in Uttar Pradesh — last year. Interestingly, he adds: “Only Congress governments knew the road to development.”

The 400 KVA sub-station at Moti Ram Adda in Gorakhpur has been done in by differences among local leaders. “The plant is complete and current is already there in overhead wires. It only requires connection to the sub-station for electricity distribution,” rues Tripathi.

Another auditorium lies half-constructed in the city, while a Rs 800-crore fertiliser factory has closed down.

Another project that was forgotten along the way may be behind Gorakhpur’s recent bout with floods. Former CM Vir Bahadur Singh had got 1,100 km of bunds constructed on various rivers in the division to prevent floods.

However, in the past 10 years, these were not repaired and flood water breached them throughout eastern Uttar Pradesh this time. Twenty of the 22 bunds were breached in the Gorakhpur districtalone.

Professor K.N.L. Sharma, retired professor of IIT, Kanpur, regrets the increase in the cost of projects due to delays. As he points out, even the amount spent on them could have been better utilised if put in banks, for that would have at least earned the state interest.

Gorakhpur’s hopes of a revival had risen when Kalyan had inducted many ministers from the city and neighbouring areas into his 90-plus Cabinet. But none of them has proved influential enough. “We need another powerful minister if not a chief minister from Gorakhpur to speed up development of the city,” says Professor S.P. Tripathi of Gorakhpur University.