For decades Uttar Pradesh and Bihar have being described as bimaru States. Now the UP State Publicity Department has nicknamed UP as Uttam Pradesh after a couple of mega-projects announced by certain big industrial houses. Perhaps, this seems to be the only justification for this nickname, otherwise economic indices of the State have nothing noteworthy to show.

Even Bihar is looking forward into the future with much hope than the Gangetic plains of UP, which has the largest arable land compared to all other States. Uttar Pradesh has the benefit of having the highest number of rivers. For thousands of years it was considered as the richest land, not only in India but outside in the world too.

Its richness along with other parts of the country lured invaders for over a millennium. According to the OECD publication of organisation of economically developed countries in 1700, India's share in world GDP was 24.4 per cent, two per cent higher than that of China. Correspondingly India's exports worldwide were also at the top. Compare it with the 28.36 per cent of the most economically developed country of the world, the USA for the last half-century.

In the succeeding centuries also, Indian and Chinese economies were leading. After the historic loot of the colonial power, India's economy hit the bottom and today India's exports do not exceed even one per cent of the global commerce. For centuries India maintained its lead mainly due to rich Indo-Gangetic plains.

Today UP, which accounts for 16 per cent of the country's population and contributes 80 MPs, is among the least developed five States on almost all counts of economic indices and it is still slipping. This has not been always so. Till mid 70's it was among the five best industrialised States of the country. It was UP which gave eight Prime Ministers to the country.

Today all the economic parameters indicate that UP is one of the poorest States, the happening area being just a couple of districts that enjoy proximity to the national capital. Its per capita income is just 54 per cent of the national average and accounts for just 36 per cent when compared to the richest State. Net State Domestic Product of UP was growing by four per cent from 1993-94 to 2003-04 against over six per cent of national average. During the last two Five Year Plans, it grew two per cent less than the rest of the country.

In the first year of the Tenth Five Year Plan the growth rate of UP was negligible 0.3 per cent and yet they call it Uttam Pradesh. Now, let us compare it with the growth rate of Gujarat, whose GDP is growing at 16 per cent, twice faster than national average of eight per cent.

But the state of affairs of the ruling politicians of Uttar Pradesh is not so. The real estate development is booming in Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddha Nagar districts. Farmers who are selling their land may get more than the expected rate of Rs 1,500 per square meter. The share of politicians is almost equal to that of the farmers.

The real estate developers are earning thousands of crores. Now the same land is costing 6,000 per square meter. The prices of developed land are further skyrocketing, benefiting the developers.

Recently at NOIDA's Commercial Centre, a piece of land was auctioned at the rate of more than Rs 1 lakh per square meter. A rate of more than that of the Nariman Point in Mumbai and even prime land of New York. But the State is still a laggard.

All social indices of UP, be it literacy, education, healthcare, sanitation, are languishing at the bottom of the ladder. The per capita income of Uttar Pradesh during 2002-03 was Rs 10,289. There are 11 States in the country whose per capita income is double or more than double than that of Uttar Pradesh, namely Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Chandigarh, Delhi and Pondicherry.

There are three States whose per capita income is more than one and half times than that of Uttar Pradesh; namely Andhra, Karnataka and West Bengal. Uttar Pradesh is in the company of Bihar and Jharkhand. Even in Assam, Madhya Pradesh and J&K, the per capita income is more than that of Uttar Pradesh. By now, going by the first year of the Tenth Five-Year Plan data, it could have slipped even more.

A State does not progress if its law and order is unsatisfactory. It can't be said to be satisfactory if most of the districts are kept under casteist mindset and control. A State can't make progress if the basic infrastructure facilities are not available.

A State can't progress if its leaders suffer from demonic hunger for wealth and money. A State can't progress if its leaders do not have visionary model for its growth. A State can't progress if its societal harmony index is not satisfactory.

Courtesy: The Pioneer, July 23, 2006