Jairam wants UP to be divided into 4 states

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh wants Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state in the country which is spread across 2,43,286 sq km, making it one of the biggest states, to be divided into four smaller states.

Ramesh, a prominent minister in the previous UPA regime and part of the team that bifurcated Telangana from Andhra Pradesh, will move a private member's resolution in the Rajya Sabha on Friday over dividing Uttar Pradesh (UP).

The resolution claims that disparities have persisted in the development of social and physical infrastructure across the well-defined ecological and cultural regions of the state and the government should invoke Articles 3 and 4 of the Constitution to reorganize UP into four new states.

Arguing that the advantages in administering smaller states have been demonstrated in practice, Ramesh's resolution states, "This will help in more effective governance and boost development of some of the poorest and backward parts of the country."

Ramesh states that the "present staggering demographic situation makes" UP India's most populous state, over 20 crore, and the projected demographic situation is likely to see its population almost double by the middle of this century.

"There are enormous complexities in governing a state like Uttar Pradesh with 75 districts and over 800 blocks, 52,000 gram panchayats and one lakh villages," the resolution states, citing that debates had taken place in the 1950s on the subject in the context of states reorganisation. Most recently, the UP Assembly had passed a resolution on the subject in November 2011.

Mayawati-led BSP is a big votary of dividing UP, which now enjoys a pride of place in the Lok Sabha with 80 MPs, into four states - Purvanchal, Bundelkhand, Awadh Pradesh and Paschim Pradesh.

RLD chief Ajit Singh had earlier demanded carving out Harit Pradesh from western UP, which he claims contributes to 72% of the state's revenue but in turn gets just 18% of the budgetary allocation.

The UP Assembly had passed by voice vote a resolution demanding the division of the state when Mayawati was the chief minister.