The new Uttar Pradesh cabinet on Thursday took a series of decision to keep the poll promises made in the Samajwadi Party’s election manifesto. At its first meeting, chaired by the new chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, the cabinet decided to provide unemployment allowance and laptops and computer tablets to class 12th and 10th passouts.
State chief secretary Anup Mishra said Rs 1,000 a month would be given to unemployed youths over 35 years and registered with employment exchanges. According to estimates, there are around 900,000 registered unemployed people who would be given financial assistance from the next financial year. This would cost the state exchequer Rs 1,100 crore a year, Misra said.
Muslim girls, who have passed class 10 would get financial assistance of Rs 30,000 for further education or marriage without any criterion of income. Misra said there would be about 100,000 such girls and the scheme would cost the state Rs 300 crore.
Keeping with another of its poll promises, the cabinet also decided to provide tablets to class 10 passouts, and laptops to all those passing out of class 12th on taking admission in next educational institutions. This would cover students of all boards and schools in the state, including madrassas students, Misra said. It was estimated 250,000 tablets and as many laptops would be required for the scheme, which would cost Rs 3,000 crore a year. The scheme would come into force from this year.
Soon after his swearing-in, Akhilesh reiterated that “law and order was the priority of the new government. “From today its our responsibility. Till now we have been levelling allegations on others,” Akhilesh told reporters in his maiden press conference.
He said UP was celebrating democracy and there were “restrictions” during the previous government. “A lot of injustice and harassment was done in the previous regime. UP, which could have marched ahead lagged behind. Institutionalised corruption on such a large scale never happened,” he said.
From what Akhilesh said, it was clear the Samajwadi Party had been working to save democratic values. “SP will work with the intention to check corruption and implement its election manifesto,” he said.