Court asks why Amethi made district without adequate resources

The Allahabad High Court's Lucknow bench Thursday issued notice to the Uttar Pradesh government seeking to know why Amethi, which contains the constituency of Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, was made a district without adequate infrastructure and resources.

Hearing a public interest litigation, a bench of Chief Justice Shiv Kirti Singh and Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya issued notice to the state government asking it to respond within two weeks on the matter raised by Sultanpur resident Ved Prakash Singh.

A notification to make Amethi a district headquarter was passed by the state government July 4 this year and the petitioners have alleged that this was done without administrative foresight and in absence of necessary funds.

Representing the petitioners, lawyer Sushil Kumar Singh contended that Rs.2,000 crore would be required for the orders of the state government to be implemented in letter and spirit.

The PIL also alleges that district officials were also finding it difficult to discharge their administrative duties.

Representing the state, Additional Advocate General Bulbul Godiyal sought wo weeks from the court to get directives on the matter from the state government.