None game for party as Tiwari govt completes year

Though Chief Minister N.D. Tiwari has been successful in keeping his flock together, it is no secret that the ruling party is caught in a quagmire of intense infighting and that has made a great impact on the functioning of the government in the past one year.

The bunglings in the selection of patwaris in the Revenue Department and the conduct of some of the ministers tarnished the image of Tiwari’s government during its one year of rule.

‘‘Many of the important decisions get delayed due to the intense rivalry among ministers,’’ said a senior bureaucrat.

Tiwari’s Council of Ministers has been vertically divided between two groups — one led by Congress state unit president Harish Rawat and the other by AICC secretary Satpal Maharaj. Rawat, who was denied the post of chief minister despite leading the party to victory in the Assembly elections, has not yet reconciled with the ground realities.

Besides, those in the Rawat camp complain that they do not have much work. ‘‘Most of the plum ministries are with those owing allegiance to Tiwari or Satpal Maharaj. We are like strangers. I have a car and a house but not consulted on important decisions concerning even my ministry,’’ lamented a Minister of State.

Tiwari, for his part, said one year was too short a period to judge the functioning of his government. He, however, claimed that the government took several important steps in the right direction like privatisation of hydro-power projects and new initiatives in the tourism sector among others.

Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, former Uttaranchal chief minister and BJP leader admitted that Tiwari’s image as a ‘‘go-getter’’ has suffered tremendously. ‘‘The promises of clean transparent governance, providing employment to local people still remain unfulfilled,’’ he said.

‘‘Most of the important issues like division of assets and liabilities between Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh, including decision on hydro-power projects, transfer of teachers who opted for the mother state, remain pending. Moreover, generation of employment, which was the root cause behind the demand for a separate state, has not yet been addressed and, corruption is still prevalent,’’ said Suryakant Dhasmana, president of the Uttaranchal unit of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).