Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati today presented the state’s annual budget with a size of Rs 133,596.98 crore, projecting the fiscal deficit for the financial year at Rs 23,298.69 crore. In her second consecutive budget, Mayawati gave due consideration to her social plank.
She allocated Rs 4,662.41 crore for new schemes, which are mainly for slum dwellers and women. The government also tabled supplementary demand for grants of Rs 4,897.62 crore in the Assembly to meet the expenses arising from the implementation of the Sixth Pay Panel report for state employees.
However, in the supplementary demand for grants, the state government has not forgotten to make a provision of Rs 103 crore for installing the statues of Dalit icons.
According to the budgetary estimates of financial year 2009-10, total receipts are estimated at Rs 121,502.96 crore whereas the total expenditure is estimated at Rs 133,596.98 crore . The revenue savings for the year 2009-10 are estimated to be Rs 1,573.19 crore, which were Rs 4,105.54 crore in the last budget.
The state government, in the budget documents, stated that to cover the deficit, Rs 12,215 crore would be adjusted from the public account.
Laying special emphasis on urban development and housing, the state government has allocated Rs 4,845 crore for the sector. This is 27 per cent more than in the last year’s budget.
The state government has allocated Rs 1,250 crore for the Kanshiram Urban Poor Housing Scheme, under which 1,01,000 houses are to be constructed. For the power sector, the state government has made a provision of Rs 9,846 crore, which will be spent on new schemes and for strengthening the distribution system.
Despite a drop in the value-added tax (VAT) revenue, the state government is expecting to raise Rs 20,741 crore from the tax in financial year 2009-10. Last year, this was estimated at Rs 17,178 crore.