Uttaranchal May Be On The Map By Year-End

Of the three new states promised by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, Uttaranchal is likely to be the first off the block.

The necessary administrative and legislative procedure required has reached an advanced stage, and in all likelihood the new state would emerge on the countrys map by year-end. According to Union home ministry sources, so far three resolutions had been received from the Uttar Pradesh assembly recommending the creation of a new state comprising the hill districts.

The nomenclature has varied between Uttaranchal and Uttarakhand, with the Bharatiya Janata Party favouring Uttaranchal. Union home minister Lal Krishna Advani confirmed yesterday that the bill on Uttaranchal would be introduced in Parliament in May.

 

However, a similar enthusiasm has not been demonstrated by the state assemblies of Bihar and Madhya Pradesh concerning the new states of Vananchal (Jharkhand areas of Bihar) and Chattisgarh. After a long history of resistance from politicians of north Bihar, the state assembly passed one resolution in July 1997, as part of a trade-off for support between Laloo Prasad Yadavs Rashtriya Janata Dal and the 16-member Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (Soren) group.

However, the creation of the Vananchal state will have to wait another resolution from the state assembly since the July 1997 one was passed in the face of a boycott by Opposition parties. Resolutions of such nature need to be passed by consensus, and not by voting.

The three resolutions passed by the Uttar Pradesh assembly were passed by consensus when governments headed by different parties were in power.

Due to the circumstance accompanying the passage of the July 1997 resolution, not much weight was given to it.

Of all the claims for creation of new states, the claim of Uttaranchal/Uttarakhand has been the strongest.

If all goes well, the new state should emerge on the countrys map by this year-end, by when all practical modalities of transfer of power and creation of new infrastructure would be completed, a senior ministry official said.

Lucknow has meanwhile began the groundwork for shifting departments and matters related to the proposed state.

A cabinet sub-committee formed for the purpose by Chief Minister Kalyan Singh this week took two major decisions: to transfer non-plan budget to the Uttaranchal Development Department, and to wind up the two mini-secretariats established in Dehradun and Nainital by former governor Motilal Vora during Presidents rule in the state.

The mini-secretariats are to be replaced by a full- fledged one, functioning for six months each at Dehradun and Nainital, on the lines of the durbar in Jammu and Kashmir (between Jammu and Srinagar) until the location of a permanent capital is decided by the new state.

The new secretariat will soon be given financial and legal powers in order to ensure smooth transfer of power when the bill is passed in Parliament.

Ministry officials are not aware if a resolution has been sent by the Madhya Pradesh assembly on the creation of Chhattisgarh.

A status report has been prepared by the ministry relating to upgrading Delhi to the status of a full fledged state.

This will, however, require a constitutional amendment (requiring two-thirds majority) to Article 239-AA, by which the National Capital Territory of Delhi was created in 1991. It will also need another bill under Article 3 for the creation of a new state of Delhi.