Rise above party politics to ensure development: Mayawati

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, who has often accused the Centre of ignoring the interests of the state, today stressed on the need to "rise above party politics" to ensure speedier development of the backward regions.

In her speech read out by state Finance Minister Lalji Verma at the 56th National Development Council meet here, Mayawati said as the objectives of inclusive growth could not be fully met during the 11th Five Year Plan, there was a need to initiate concrete measures during the 12th Plan to ensure speedier development of backward regions and to bring the "downtrodden" into the mainstream of growth.

"To achieve such balanced and higher level of development, it will be necessary to rise above party politics and so distribute the resources as to uplift the lagging regions and neglected sections of our society," she said.

She lamented that the Approach Paper of the Planning Commission on 12th Plan "does not seem to reflect" all the suggestions made by the states at regional consultation meetings.

Referring to the controversy over the Planning Commission's affidavit in the Supreme Court on poverty line, Mayawati said though its definition has always been a daunting task, "such an exercise should not be so designed as to underestimate the real magnitude of poverty."

She said there should be no prior cap on the number of below poverty line families when the survey to identify such families is undertaken.

Lamenting that the Centre has so far not provided necessary clearance to projects like Taj International Airport, Kushinagar international airport (near Nepal border), Ganga Expressway and the Upper Ganga Canal Expressway "although it does not entail any financial commitment on part of the central government."

She said such projects under the private-public model will accelerate development of new urban centres.