PM discards snap polls; announces funds for Varanasi

“No snap polls at least this year,” the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in Varanasi on Friday “elections for Lok Sabha will be held as per schedule.”

While eliminating every doubts and suggestions raised by the reporters put on for whether budgetary proposal was election-oriented, Singh said that it was not a populist decision. The farm-loan waiver was taken keeping in mind the plight of poor and marginal farmers.

Reporters showered number of questions related to Uttar Pradesh and Mayawati government. In a query about Mayawati government’s support for fragmentation of Uttar Pradesh for carving out smaller states, Manmohan Singh replied “the Centre would consider if any such proposal to this effect comes from the state government.”

In reply to a question, the PM said Centre has announced various schemes for the people of the state. Now it was for the state government to implement schemes so that the people could get benefit of that. Centre cannot interfere every time in the state’s affairs and said to blame the Centre for the improper implementation of the schemes, was sound not good.

Further asking over the implementation of a range of Central developmental schemes in the state, he said the state government has lot to do in this regard. “The situation is not satisfactory,” he added.

The Prime Minister during his visit to Varanasi interacted with a section of people comprising a weaver’s delegation led by P K Mishra, a Member of Parliament.

The PM said that lot of developmental work has to do for the welfare of the people of Varanasi and also for the benefit of weavers of Varanasi.

Fund for development of Varanasi

Varanasi is a major pilgrimage city and has been included in the Jawahar Lal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM). Under this mission, Centre is also willing to fund a major public transport project for Varanasi, Singh said.

He said that owing to its significance as a Heritage city, the Centre would provide adequate funds for the town to have a modern transport system. Uttar Pradesh government would be asked to forward a proposal in this regard.

The PM said the Ministry of Tourism also has taken up Varanasi under its Mega Projects Scheme for tourism development. There is also a provision made in the Budget-2008 for tax concessions to hotels in places incorporated with heritage monuments.

In a query about when the funding would come into progress, Singh said the state government would be asked to form a Group of Experts to prepare a Heritage Development Plan for the city which would funded from JNNURM and other sources.

The Prime Minister announced that a sum of Rs 70 crores would be provided to Varanasi under the “Mega Cluster Scheme” announced in this year's union budget to improve the infrastructures like storage, weaving, production, health, training and designing facilities for weavers.

Under the weavers’ health insurance scheme, over one lakh weavers from the town will be covered and a joint scheme run by Centre and State together, “Rashtriya Swastiya Bima Yojana” will be launched on April 1 this year for power loom workers.

Manmohan Singh said that he was aware of problems facing by farmers over the overdue electricity bills and said the government will do something for the farmers to get rid of the past electricity bills.

D Litt to Manmohan Singh

The Banaras Hindu University (BHU) will confer an honorary D. Litt (Doctor of Letters) degree for honourable cause to PM Manmohan Singh at its 90 the convocation in Varanasi on Saturday. Painter Satish Gujaral and historian Irfan Habib will also be conferred honorary D Litt degree on this occasion.