With eye on polls, UP govt pumps in funds for arid Bundelkhand

The Uttar Pradesh government today announced its decision to inject Rs 904.52 crore for drought-hit areas in the state, including backward Bundelkhand, with an eye on the 2017 assembly polls.
A day before the annual budget for the state, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav presented in the assembly the second supplementary budget totalling Rs 27,758.98 crore, which also includes funds for cooperatives, power and other infrastructure sectors.
With the opposition parties getting active in Bundelkhand, the chief minister had promised that his government would make efforts to address the issues confronting the area spread over seven districts --Banda, Chitrakoot, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Jhansi, Jalaun and Lalitpur.

During a recent padayatra in Bundelkhand, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi had sought more funds for the development of the water-scarce region.
In course of his padayatra in Mahoba on January 23, Rahul had targeted both the BJP government at the Centre and the Samajwadi Party dispensation in Uttar Pradesh over their alleged apathy towards farmers.
Days after Rahul's visit, the chief minister too visited the area to blunt the opposition attack and virtually kicked off the Samajwadi Party's campaign in the region, saying it has always been a priority for his government.
Bundelkhand region is home to 18.3 million people as per 2011 census and is blighted with drought and unseasonable rains that has destroyed standing winter crops. In the past few years, several farmers have committed suicide with no money for seeds and no water for irrigation.

The state government has written to the Centre asking it to include the entire population of Bundelkhand under the Food Security Act to provide subsidised food grains for the poor.