Cabinet okays creation of three new States

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MAY 13. The decks have been cleared by the Government for the formation of three new states - Jharkhand, Uttaranchal and Chattisgarh - with the Union Cabinet giving its approval today to three separate Bills which will carve these States out of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

The Bills are expected to be circulated among the Members of Parliament on May 15 and introduced in the Lok Sabha on May 17, the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, Mr. Pramod Mahajan, said after the Cabinet meeting. He declined to give details as the Bills would have to be first circulated among the MPs.

The Cabinet also approved of the Information Technology Bill which will usher in the age of e-commerce and introduce `cyber' laws to govern the use of new technology in this area. The IT Bill is slated to be taken up for discussion in the Lok Sabha on May 15.

While the Cabinet approval marks the end of the phase related to drafting the legislation - which would include details of the territory to be included in the new States - the passage in Parliament will take some more time. The earliest that the Bills can be passed would be in the monsoon session this July.

Last week, the Union Home Minister, Mr. L.K. Advani, had given more than a clear hint that at least two Bills related to the reorganisation of States would be introduced in Parliament this session itself. However, he had also said there could be some delay in the case of Jharkhand as the Bihar Assembly had only recently sent its approval along with 59 amendments.

Apparently, MPs from Bihar made strong representations to the Home Ministry, which has been working overtime to complete the work on the Jharkhand legislation to ensure that it did not remain behind Chattisgarh and Uttaranchal.

These Bills are the result of long years of struggle by the people of these regions who were of the view that their areas had remained relatively undeveloped. In the case of Jharkhand, the birth of the new State may not be entirely painless, as Bihar has demanded a whopping Rs. 1,79,000 crores as compensation for the loss of the mineral-rich Chotanagpur plateau which will become Jharkhand.

The three Bills are not expected to meet with much resistance in Parliament, as the main Opposition party, Congress(I), has already made its stand clear in their favour.

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