UP Budget: Scooty to meritorious college girls, Lucknow gets AI City

While Rs 400 crore has been allotted for the newly launched Rani Laxmibai Scooty Scheme for Girl Students, Khanna has made significant allocations for four new expressways, development of religious places, especially Banke Bihari Temple Corridor in Mathura, and for upkeep of stray cattle in the state in the Rs 8.09 lakh crore Budget outlay.

After the presentation of the Budget, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath dedicated it to “Sanatan culture”, saying it was aligned with the principles of ‘Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah’ (happiness for all). “It focuses on the upliftment of youth, women, and farmers, with a clear vision inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s priority for the deprived sections of the society,” said Adityanath.

In his Budget speech, the Finance Minister said that while the outlay has been increased by 9.8% — up from Rs 7,36,437 crore of last year — that included new schemes worth Rs 24,863.57 crore — the fiscal deficit has been curtailed to 2.97 per cent of the state Gross Domestic Product (GSDP), and noted that it remained within the prescribed FRBM limit of 3 per cent.

Khanna said the revenue expenditure has been pegged at Rs 5.83 lakh crore and the capital expenses will be Rs 2.26 lakh crore, out of which a provision of Rs 1.65 lakh crore has been proposed for capital outlay.

“According to a report by the Reserve Bank of India, Uttar Pradesh’s share of tax receipts among all states is among the highest in the country, reflecting strong financial management,” he said.

The state’s economy, which was in a difficult position in 2017, has now doubled, with the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) projected to reach Rs 27.51 lakh crore for the financial year 2024-2025. The per capita income has also seen substantial growth, from Rs 52,671 in 2016-2017 to Rs 93,514 in 2023-2024, Khanna told the Assembly.

The government announced four new expressways and allocated Rs 1,050 crore. The four new expressways include a green field expressway from Agra-Lucknow Expressway to Ganga Expressway in Kausia in Hardoi district via Farrukhabad. A sum of Rs 900 crore has been allocated for it.

Another new expressway project is the Vindhya Expressway, connecting Ganga Expressway to Sonbhadra via Prayagraj, Mirzapur, Varanasi, Chandauli, for which Rs 50 crore has been allocated.

The other expressway projects announced on Thursday are Ganga Expressway Extension Expressway, which will connect Meerut and Haridwar, and for which a provision of Rs 50 crore has been made. The fourth is the Bundelkhand-Rewa Expressway, for which a provision of Rs 50 crore has been made in this Budget.

Other major allocations in infrastructure include Rs 461 crore for defence Industrial corridor along Bundelkhand Expressway, Rs 5 crore for development of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) City in Lucknow and another Rs 3 crore for Technology Translation Research Park.

With the ongoing Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj and the government’s renewed thrust of religious tourism, the Finance Minister announced Rs 150 crore for purchasing land and construction of Banke Bihari Ji Maharaj Temple Mathura-Vrindavan Corridor. Another Rs 125 crore has been allocated for infrastructure projects in Mathura.

The allocation becomes significant as after Ayodhya, Kashi and Prayagraj, the focus of the BJP government is now shifting to Mathura.

A provision of Rs 200 crore has also been made for purchasing land and construction of Parikrama Path and public facilities at Maa Vindhyavasini Temple, Maa Ashtabhuja Temple, Maa Kali Khoh Temple in Mirzapur district. Another Rs 30 crore has been proposed for renovation and reconstruction of conserved temples.

Further, Rs 100 crore allocation has been proposed for the establishment of Ved Vigyan Kendra in Naimisharanya of Sitapur district. Another Rs 150 crore has been proposed for development of tourism infrastructure facilities in Ayodhya, while Rs 50 crore for development of tourism infrastructure facilities in Chitrakoot.

At a post-Budget press conference, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that having learnt from the recent experiences during Maha Kumbh, two new bridges have been proposed in Prayagraj city to ensure smooth movement of pilgrims in future.

Further, Rs 100 crore have been proposed for construction of way-side amenities for the convenience of tourists on major state roads as well as national highways as Uttar Pradesh received 65 crore tourists from January to December 2024, Khanna said.

With the issue of stray cattle propping up ahead of every election in recent years in the state, a budgetary provision of Rs 2,000 crore has been made for maintenance of stray cattle, while another Rs 140 crore for establishment of large cow conservation centers. Another Rs 123 crore has been allocated for strengthening of veterinary hospitals and animal service centres in the state.

The Budget has also proposed to set up “Baba Bhim Rao Ambedkar Smarak and Sanskritik Kendra” in Lucknow. “This centre would soon become the center of ideology of Baba Bhim Rao Ambedkar and would take forward the work of giving priority to the deprived in the society,” the CM said.

The Budget has also focused on renewable, clean and green energy with the government claiming that almost 23 per cent of the budget has been allocated to “climate-friendly initiatives, renewable energy, afforestation, agriculture and in supporting carbon neutrality and climate resilience”.

Khanna said that work will be done to develop 58 municipal bodies of the state as ideal smart municipal bodies. For this, a provision of Rs 2.50 crore per municipal body amounting to a total of Rs 145 crore was proposed.

He said that the Uttar Pradesh Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board will work on the plan to build workers/labor bases in the district headquarters of the state, in which canteen, drinking water, bathroom, and toilet facilities will be provided.

The Finance Minister said the state government has started ‘Zero Poverty Abhiyan’ from October 02, 2024 on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti. Under this campaign, action is being taken to identify the poorest families from each Gram Panchayat and meet their basic needs and bring their annual income to at least Rs 1,25,000.