Context

• Recently Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited chairman highlighted the crisis in the Electricity sector in UP and a bid for Privatisation.

About the News

• UPPCL reported a ₹48,515 crore cash gap for FY 2024–25, largely from Purvanchal & Dakshinanchal regions of the State.
• Plans are underway by the State Government to privatize 51% equity in these discoms to stem losses, while maintaining tariff regulation and protecting jobs.
• UPPCL is aiming to retain 49% and regulatory control of the DISCOM’S.
• The move is expected to cut theft, improve billing, and could even stabilize or reduce consumer tariffs.

Other Facets

• Purvanchal and Dakshinanchal have contributed to the lion's share of this deficit.
• Over the past five years expenses have grown by 8.3 while revenue has lagged by 6.7 leading to a cash gap increase of 12.7 annually.
• The Allahabad High Court  has recently rejected a PIL opposing privatization of the two DISCOMs, stating the petition lacked concrete evidence, thus greenlighting the process.

Widespread Opposition and Protests

• Recently, over 2.7 million electricity employees across India—including from UP—held a token strike against the privatization plan.
• Worker groups claim the losses are exaggerated to justify privatization. For example, in Agra, UPPCL allegedly lost ₹2,434 crore by supplying cheaper power to Torrent Power—despite privatisation there—prompting calls to rethink the model.

Infrastructure, Demand & Efficiency Challenges

• Summer peak demand surged from 30,618 MW in June 2024 to a projected 32,000–33,000 MW in 2025. 
• UPPCL has procured additional power via banking arrangements and new plants to curb blackouts but distribution bottlenecks persist.
• UP generates only ~5,000 MW locally, relying heavily on expensive external sources.
• Since 2014, total losses across UP’s five Discoms topped ₹1.18 trillion in FY 2023–24. Purvanchal alone accounted for around ₹35,000 crore. 

About Purvanchal

• It is located in the Eastern part of Uttar Pradesh.
• It is bordered by  Bihar in the east, Madhya Pradesh in the south and Nepal in the north.
• Major rivers flow through the region are Ganga, Ghaghara, Sarayu, and Gandak.
• Languages spoken are Bhojpuri, Awadhi, Hindi.

About Dakshinanchal 

• Located in Southern UP; overlaps heavily with the Bundelkhand region and parts of Braj.
• It is bordered by Madhya Pradesh in the south and Rajasthan in southwest.
• Languages spoken are Bundeli, Brajbhasha, Hindi.
• The area geography is Rocky terrain, plateaus, and seasonal rivers.

Context

• Recently, Uttar Pradesh has been recognized as the cleanest state in Swachta Surveskhan Awards 2024.

About the News

• The award was presented by President Droupadi Murmu, with Urban Development Minister A. K. Sharma received it on behalf of the state.
• Lucknow ranked 3rd cleanest city in India among cities with a population exceeding 10 lakh.
• Lucknow became the first city in UP to earn a 7‑star Garbage Free City (GFC) rating—scored over 12,000 out of 12,500.
• PRAYAGRAJ: It was Named India’s Cleanest Ganga Town, surpassing long‑standing contender Varanasi.
• Improved its national rank from 71st in 2023‑24 to 12th in 2024‑25, earning a 5‑star rating.
• Agra & Gorakhpur: Agra was recognised as an Emerging Clean City, entering the top 30 nationally with a 5-star GFC certification.
• Gorakhpur earned a 5-star GFC, ranked 3rd in the Safaimitra Safe City category, and 4th among cities with a population of 3‑10 lakh.

Statewide Progress

• The number of Garbage Free Cities (GFCs) in UP rose from 65 in 2023 to 83 in 2024, including one 7-star city and multiple 5-star cities.
• Water Plus status (indicating full wastewater treatment standards) grew dramatically—from 2 cities in 2023 to 16 cities in 2024.
• UP achieved high coverage in ODF++ and ODF+ certifications, ensuring safe containment and treatment of fecal and septage waste in urban local bodies.
• Verified improvements: Door‑to‑door waste collection rose from ~48% to ~62%; garbage processing jumped from ~48% to ~85%.

Context

• The Uttar Pradesh government’s 2025 decision to merge government schools with low enrolment has sparked widespread debate.
• The Allahabad High Court has upheld the government’s position. This policy shift reflects broader trends in Indian education aimed at resource optimisation amid declining enrolments.

Background of School Merger in Uttar Pradesh

• In mid-2025, UP’s Basic Education Department identified schools with fewer than 50 students.
• The government aims to use freed infrastructure for pre-primary Balvatikas.
• This approach follows similar reforms seen in states like Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha under NITI Aayog initiatives since 2017.

Rationale Behind School Merger

• The mergers address inefficient use of resources in small schools.
• Many government schools have very low enrolment and often only one teacher.
• NEP recommends forming school complexes to share resources and improve education quality.
• The policy aims to reduce operational challenges such as multi-grade teaching and lack of specialised subjects or facilities.

Challenges in Merger Policy

• Opposition parties and teachers’ unions argue mergers increase travel distances for children.
• This may disproportionately affect girls and marginalised groups, risking higher drop-out rates.
• Critics fear the loss of local schools undermines community access and engagement.

Impact on Enrolment and School Infrastructure  

• Data from UDISE+ shows a decline in government schools in UP from 163,000 in 2018-19 to 137,000 in 2023-24. Meanwhile, private school numbers increased.
• Nearly 13,000 schools had zero enrolment in 2023-24.
• Small school sizes have made quality education delivery difficult, with many schools lacking adequate teachers and facilities. The merger policy seeks to address these inefficiencies.