Lucknow | Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday described the Uttar Pradesh Budget, presented weeks ahead of the upcoming general elections, as development-oriented.
“The budget should be lok kalyankari (welfare-oriented) than lok lubhawan (populist)”, the chief minister told reporters.
Asked if presenting a development-oriented Budget reflected the government’s “over-confidence” in an election year, Adityanath said, “There is no need for anyone to worry.”
The Budget should be the one which should strengthen the poor’s right to lead an honourable life, he added.
Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Rajesh Agarwal on Thursday presented a Rs 4.79 lakh crore budget for 2019-20 in the state assembly. The latest budget estimate is 12 per cent higher than that of the 2018-19 budget of Rs 4,28,384.52 crore.
The 2019-20 budget includes new schemes worth Rs 21,212.95 crore.
“This Budget is the biggest budget in the history of Uttar Pradesh and is aimed at realising the ‘sab ke saath; sab ka vikas’ motto of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he said.
Adityanath claimed the annual income per person in the state has increased by Rs 5,500 in one year because of the state government’s efforts.
His government is working for all sections of the society, trying to bring a smile on their faces, he added.
On whether the budget was adequate for going into the 2019 polls, he said, “Whatever was required in the interest of the state has been taken care of. And there are also achievements of the various schemes of the Central government.”
“The announcements alone cannot serve any purpose for the poor, it needs honest implementation,” he pointed out.
To another query on the financial deficit in the budget, the chief minister said it was well under limit and it reflected the debt left unpaid by the previous government.
He gave an account of the focus on power sector, the estimates for which have been hiked by over 20 per cent, and the road sector which has been given 12.62 per cent more.
He also gave details of increased allocations to other sectors including agriculture, medical education and urban development.
The government is also focussing on the irrigation schemes pending in the state since long and has allocated funds for their completion, he said.
The allocations have also been made for police modernisation and infrastructural developments, he added.
The other major fund allocations are for setting up 18 Atal residential schools at divisional level to ensure good education to labourers’ children and for the Vishvakarma Shram Samman for training and providing honorarium to those carrying out their traditional occupation, he said.
The government has also brought ‘Mukhyamantri Jan Arogya Yojna’ on the lines of ‘Modicare’ to provide healthcare facilities to those who have not been covered under any other scheme, he said.
The Budget has the provisions also for the development of Sanskrit and modernisation of madrasas, he said, adding it has also taken care of the piped water supply in the Bundelkhand region.
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