Outlay Of Rs 5.12 Lakh Crore: UP Budget becomes bigger with thrust on new infra, job creation

The Budget estimates total receipts of 5,00,558 crore — Rs 4,22,567 crore through revenue and Rs 77,990 crore through capital receipts. It estimates a deficit of Rs 12,302 crore. The state’s debt liability is estimated to be of 28.8 percent of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).

While the government has set aside Rs 2,000 crore for the new greenfield airport project at Jewar near Delhi and another Rs 500 crore for an airport in Ayodhya (see the adjoining story), it has also allocated Rs 2,000 crore for the 637-km ‘Ganga Expressway’ from Meerut to Prayagraj, which the government says will be in the longest in the country.

As far as expressways are concerned, a provision of Rs 400 crore has been made for Gorakhpur and Rs 200 crore Ballia Link expressways to connect them with Purvanchal expressway, whereas Rs 750 crore has been allotted for Bundelkhand Expressway. Another Rs 150 crore has been set aside for the development of Defence corridor along the Bundelkhand Expressway. Not just this, another Rs 200 crore has been made for the development of an “Industrial Corridor” along Gorakhpur Link Expressway.

For Kanpur Metro rail project, the government has allocated Rs 358 crore and for Agra Metro Rs 286 crore. It has also earmarked Rs 200 crore more for metro rail projects in Gorakhpur and other cities.

For Ayodhya, where the construction of a Ram temple is expected to begin in the next few months, the state government will spend Rs 85 crore for the development of the pilgrim city as a tourist spot. Another Rs 10 crore will go on the renovation of the Tulsi Smarak Bhawan, dedicated to the author of Ramcharitmanas.

In his Budget speech, Khanna said that the Chief Minister Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (CMAPS) and the Yuva Udyamita Vikas Abhiyan (YUVA) will make the youth self-dependent. “A provision of Rs 100 crore has been made under the CMAPS to impart on-job training to the youth of the state in MSME units and link them with the employment of definite period,” Khanna said.

Under the scheme, they will not only be provided training but also be given a stipend. “Out of the total amount of stipend, Rs 1,500 will be borne by the Centre, Rs 1,000 by the state and the remaining amount by the industry concerned,” he said.

Through Yuva Udyamita Vikas Abhiyan (YUVA), the government aims to provide employment to trained youths in the state. Stating that a ‘YUVA Hub’ will be set up in every district of the state, Khanna said, “An amount of Rs 50 crore is proposed for setting up ‘YUVA Hub’ in every district and a target has been fixed to train two lakh youths under various training programmes of the UP Skill Development Mission.” he said.

The Budget has also allocated Rs 200 crore for the expansion and beautification of Kashi Vishwanath temple in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Varanasi constituency. Another Rs 180 crore will go on setting up a cultural centre in the holy city. Provisions have also been made in the Budget for the upkeep of cows.

The Budget has also set a target for construction of four lakh houses for the weaker sections within a year. The Finance Minister also said that government will set up “community toilet” in each of 60,000 gram panchayats in the state for those who failed to construct a personal toilet.