Express News Service
LUCKNOW: Reiterating the resolve to take Uttar Pradesh towards an economy worth $1 trillion, thereby, contributing to the national goal of making India a $5 trillion economy, the Yogi Adityanath government presented the first budget worth Rs 6,15,518. 97 crore for FY 2022-23 of its second tenure here on Thursday.
The budget, presented by state finance minister Suresh Khanna, has new schemes worth Rs 39,181.10 crore.
This budget is significantly higher than the previous budget, which was worth Rs 5,50,270.78 crore with new schemes worth Rs 27,598.40 crore.
“The state’s economy is improving rapidly. We will be successful in taking it economy to $1 trillion,” Khanna said while presenting the budget. He added that provisions were made towards fulfilling 97 out of 130 poll promises made by the party.
Adityanath said the budget has more than doubled since the Akhilesh Yadav-led regime in 2016-17. Keeping its focus on farmers, women, youth and industrial development, the budget has made provisions for free irrigation facility through 34,307 government tube-wells and 252 minor branch canals.
A total of 15,000 solar pumps will be installed and 60.20 lakh quintal seeds distributed this financial year.
For women’s safety, 10,370 women constables have been allotted. Three women Provincial Armed Constabulary Battalions will be formed in Lucknow, Gorakhpur and Budaun, and Rs 523.34 crore has been kept for Safe City Scheme in six cities. A target has been set to establish 10,000 startups, and employment generation for 4 lakh people in five years.
The government plans to attract industrial investment worth Rs 10 lakh crore in 10 years, and Rs 100 crore is proposed for boosting industrial infrastructure. “We have proposed Rs 400 crore for Gen Bipin Rawant Defence and Industrial Corridor in Bundelkhand,” the CM said.
In the current financial year the BJP-led UP government will spend Rs 1,500 crore on a youth empowerment scheme, Rs 1,000 crore on a scheme to develop small irrigation projects and Rs 650 crore to help farmers and their families if the breadwinner meets with an accident.
A big ticket item is the Centre-initiated Jal Jeevan Mission.
The UP government has earmarked Rs 19,500 crore this year to provide drinking water in water-scarce regions under the scheme.
“The economy of the state is improving rapidly. We believe that we will be successful in taking the state’s economy to USD 1 trillion,” Finance minister Suresh Khanna said in the budget speech, with the chief minister sitting next to him in the state assembly.
Hailing the budget later, Adityanath said it met the aspirations of the people.
It has allotted Rs 54,883 crore for 97 schemes out of the total 130 points mentioned in the BJP manifesto in the recent assembly polls, he told reporters.
This includes the election promise of providing two cooking gas cylinders free each year to the beneficiaries of the ‘Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana’.
The opposition slammed the entire exercise.
Samajwadi Party president called it a “spider’s web of statistics” and Bahujan Samaj Party’s leader Mayawati termed it “clichéd”.
On law and order, the budget has proposed spending over Rs 730 crore for strengthening the Police Emergency Management System.
Over Rs 276 crore will be set aside for establishing the UP Special Security Force entrusted with the security of courts and historical and religious places, including Ayodhya, Varanasi and Mathura.
Also, the budget provides Rs 100 crore for beautification and development of tourism facilities in Ayodhya and Varanasi.
The Swami Vivekananda Youth Empowerment Scheme, under which the government is distributing smartphones and computer tablets, gets Rs 1,500 crore.
Twelve lakh devices have already been distributed out of the two crore planned over five years.
The budget promotes entrepreneurship among the youth under the UP Startup Policy-2020.
The target is to establish 100 incubators and 10,000 startups over five years, Khanna said.
An amount of Rs 30 crore has been earmarked for setting up coaching facilities near their homes in all districts for students preparing for competitive exams.
The budget provides Rs 72 crore for women empowerment schemes and proposes setting up cyber helpdesks at the district level.
Mission Shakti, under which women undergo skill development programmes, also gets Rs 20 crore.
For farmers, a “stability fund” has been set up to ensure minimum support price for perishable crops like potato, tomato and onion.
The budget allows spending Rs 650 crore under a scheme related to farmers who meet with accidents.
The government will give up to Rs 5 lakh if a farmer dies in an accident or suffers a disability.
About Rs 50 crore will be spent this year on the upcoming Rs 700-crore Major Dhyan Chand University in Meerut, for which Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone on January 2.
The state government will also spend Rs 95 crore on buying land to establish an international cricket stadium in Varanasi.
Finance Minister Khanna said 26 crore man-days were created in financial year 2021-22 under the MGNREGA rural employment scheme.
The target this year is 32 crore man-days.
The government has also set a target to generate employment for 16,000 people by establishing 800 units in rural areas.
Also, 7,540 posts have been generated in the secondary education system and 10,000 new jobs for nurses are being created in the coming years.
The budget has set aside Rs 250 crore this year for the Chief Minister’s Tourist Places Scheme for developing one tourist destination in each assembly constituency.
Under another scheme, the state government will spend Rs 10 crore to help young lawyers buy books and magazines during the first three years of work.
Reacting to the budget, SP leader Akhilesh Yadav said the government had promised to double the income of farmers by 2022 and asked if that has happened.
BSP supremo Mayawati accused the state government of throwing dust in the eyes of people.
The Congress claimed that the UP government was following the Centre by making announcements that were just “in the air”.
In a statement issued here, Congress Legislature Party leader Aradhana Misra also said that the budget has been infected by the disease of New Delhi.
“Till now, the Union Budget was based on ‘hawa-hawai’ announcements (announcements made in air). But now, the UP government has also followed the path of the Centre. When the government is not able to fulfil promises made in its ‘sankalp patra’, what can be a bigger cheating with the people of the state than this,” she said.
Misra also said that this is the “most disappointing budget of a directionless government”.
Raising questions on the electricity supply, she said that people are feeling worried owing to new meters and heavy electricity bills.
Meanwhile, Rashtriya Kisan Manch (RKM), a farmers’ organisation, on Thursday said that the farmers have been “cheated” through the 2022-2023 budget.
In a statement issued here, RKM president Shekhar Dixit said, “The UP government has cheated the farmers in this budget. The claims of payment of sugarcane dues to the farmers are completely hollow.”
He also alleged that there is no water in the canals of the state, due to which farmers are facing problems.
Reacting to the budget, Lucknow-based senior tax lawyer Ashish Kumar Tripathi said, “The populist schemes and announcements made in the budget, and the magical spell make it amply clear that the government wants to fulfil its promises made in the 2022 assembly elections, and also prepares a ground for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.”
Tripathi added that if there had been more co-ordination between plan and effort of the government, then this budget would have proved to be more “development-oriented”.
However, the provisions of security made for the courts and advocates are good, he said.
ormer Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma said that it will truly fulfil the expectations of farmers, young women and the poor.
“People of the state have reposed their faith in the BJP government to maintain the pace of development, and this budget is going to increase the pace of that development.
In this budget, all the provisions have been made to fulfil the resolutions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
This budget will truly fulfil the expectations of farmers, young women and the poor,” Sharma said in a statement issued here.
He added that the steps have been taken for a positive change in the life of the common man.
“The provisions of the budget are such that the state will establish new dimensions in every field in the coming time. This is truly a budget, which fulfils the dream of a giant leap of development,” he said.
Sharma said that a blueprint has been drawn for the bright future of the youth.
(With PTI Inputs)
Road for $1 Trillion economy
1,000 Irrigation.
40,000 IT policy.
1,500 Tablet / smartphone distribution to youth.
250 Modern equipment for police.
276.66 Security for courts, & historical & religious places, including Ayodhya, Kashi & Mathura.
100 2025 Prayagraj Mahakumbh facilities.
695 Construction of 6-lane 594-km Meerut-Prayagraj Ganga Expressway.
