After spending more than three years on building parks, statues and memorials and courting controversies, the Mayawati government in Uttar Pradesh is finally turning towards development and governance.
The state government has now appointed a retired IAS officer of Uttarakhand cadre its new adviser. The officer, M. Ramchandran, will enjoy the status of a Cabinet minister and will oversee mega developmental projects currently under consideration for the development of the state.
Mr Ramchandran retired recently as Union urban development secretary. He was allotted the Uttarakhand cadre after the bifurcation of Uttar Pradesh in 2000. He also headed the newly created hill state as its fourth chief secretary from October 4, 2005 to October 30, 2006 before moving to the Centre as Union urban development secretary.
He will be based in Noida, which is the hub of development at the moment. His main job will be to coordinate and monitor ongoing projects related to metro rail, airport, expressways and those under consideration of the Noida and the Greater Noida. He will suggest ways and means for their effective implementation and along with the steps to raise resources for them.
Besides, he will also coordinate with PWD, housing and urban development departments for developing new models for PPP in development of infrastructure facilities in urban areas.
and road networks in the state.
The choice of Mr Ramchandran as adviser to the UP government, however, is not without its administrative and political overtones.
While Mr Ramchandran has wide administrative experience in handling mega projects including the Delhi metro rail project, his association with Uttarakhand will also come in handy for the ruling BSP which is keen to expand its base in the hill state.
It is significant that after the results of the Bihar elections, the Mayawati government has suddenly shifted focus on development which is now placed high on the state government’s priority list. The BSP has, perhaps, realised that voters are now veering towards the politics of development and shunning the politics of caste and communalism.