BHOPAL: Eight districts of Madhya Pradesh including Vidisha, represented by external affair minister Shushma Swaraj have been listed among the most backward districts in the country by the NITI Aayog in its report released the other day.
The report on backward districts of India has come as a shocker for the Madhya Pradesh government that has been claiming to have catapulted the state on the track of development. While Sushma has been representing Vidisha Lok Sabha seat for the last two terms, it was in the past represented by chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for five terms.
Earlier, NITI Aayog had placed Madhya Pradesh at 17th position in the list of 21 states in its first ever health index issued this year. Singrauli district which was carved out from parts of Sidhi in 2008 is the third most backward district of India, says the report. The other districts from MP to figure in the list are Barwani and East Nimar (Khandwa) in Western MP, Chhatarpur, Damoh in Bundelkhand , Guna, and Rajgarh in the Madhya Bharat region of the state.

Vidisha lagged in education and health indicators.
Though, Sushma Swaraj is away touring Japan on an official visit, her secretary in Bhopal Rajendra Sikka said the minister would be visiting Bhopal on April 2 to discuss the issue. She has worked a lot for the development of Vidisha, he said, adding, on April 2 she would hold a meeting in which chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and NITI Aayog representatives would also be present. Known as power hub of MP, Singrauli is one of the most polluted cities of the state.