Thaindian News

Lucknow, June 11 (IANS) After prolonged upper caste baiting, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mayawati is back to focussing on her core support base of dalits.
She has begun the exercise by issuing directives to allot ‘pattas’ (small land holdings) to landless and homeless dalits in the vast rural expanse of the state.

In a circular issued by the chief minister’s office Friday, Mayawati directed all divisional commissioners and district magistrates to undertake a special drive for allotment of ‘pattas’ to “eligible persons”, which primarily include landless dalits.

The move is seen as part of her new agenda to gear up her party and government for the 2012 state assembly elections.

“While carrying out ‘patta’ allotments to the landless poor, you must also look into complaints of fraudulent allotments to ineligible persons, who must dispose of such land latest by the end of this month,” the directive said.

“There is an urgent need for regular monitoring of ‘pattas’. Strict action needs to be taken against mafias and musclemen, who are found to be in illegal possession of such plots,” she stressed.

The chief minister has also urged the officials to personally carry out spot verification of various development and public welfare programmes.

Reviewing the progress of disposal of public complaints, the chief minister directed officers to give priority to the problems of common people and ensure their disposal in a time bound manner.

She emphasised on the need to make the weekly ‘Tehsil Day’ system more effective so that common people get a fair chance to bring their problems before the district officials.

The chief minister also stressed upon the need for speeding up work related to long pending consolidation of land holdings.

While expediting the verification of beneficiaries under destitute widow pension scheme, she also urged officials to draw up a list of beneficiaries under Mahamaya Gharib Balika Ashirwad Yojana within a month’s time.

The chief minister’s directives also include emphasis on “improvement of power supply in both rural and urban areas”, and “repair of defective hand-pumps and extension of piled drinking water supply in untapped areas”.

Besides issuing directions for priority based allotment of land for primary schools in slums, Mayawati has also directed the health department to ensure proper implementation of various health, pre-natal and post-natal immunisation programmes.