Populist sops in poll-oriented budget; disappointing says oppn

Doling out a string of populist measures ahead of 2017 Assembly polls, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today announced new schemes totalling Rs 13,842 crore in the budget presented today, with a focus on agriculture, health and education.
With farmers accounting for a major chunk of the electorate, the Rs 3,46,935-crore budget for 2016-17 has made special provisions for the farm sector which include Rs 1,336 crore for clearing cane arrears and Rs 240 crore for a farmer accident insurance scheme.
Yadav also announced a Rs 2,000-crore allocation for the welfare of minorities, especially to promote education, Rs 100 crore for supply of free laptops for meritorious students and promised 16 hours a day of power supply in rural areas by October this year.

Describing the budget as "balanced and development oriented", Yadav told reporters that the SP government has been successful in fulfilling its promises through various welfare schemes and earlier budgets.
He also said that while infrastructure has improved, the challenge is to provide relief to farmers and employment to the youth.
Yadav said he would present his sixth budget too, implying that he would stage a comeback in the next elections due early next year.

However, the Opposition termed the budget as "disappointing, anti-farmer and anti-people".
The budget estimates total expenditure at Rs 3,46,934.8 crore and receipts at Rs 3,40,120.6 crore. The fiscal deficit has been estimated at Rs 49,960.9 crore, 4.04 per cent of the state's GDP.

This includes bonds of Rs 13,303 crore issued under the financial reorganisation scheme of 'Uday' for power companies.
Excluding this, the fiscal deficit is pegged at Rs 36,657.9 crore, which is 2.97 per cent of the state GDP.
Among special provisions for the agriculture sector, a provision of Rs 1,336 crore has been made for payment of cane arrears to farmers, Rs 897 crore for the proposed 'Samajwadi Kisan evam Sarvahit Insurance Scheme', Rs 240 crore for farmer accident insurance scheme and Rs 50 crore for 'Aam Aadmi Insurance Scheme'.
For relief works under the state disaster fund, Rs 709 crore has been proposed, and an action plan of Rs 2,057 crore has been prepared to offset losses in 50 drought-hit districts.

Eyeing its core minority votebank, the SP government made a significant allocation of over Rs 2,000 crore for their welfare, especially to promote education. Minority communities account for 16 to 18 per cent of the state's electorate.
The budget has earmarked Rs 537 crore for scholarships to pre-10th standard students belonging to the minority communities.
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Focusing on the water-scarce Bundelkhand region ahead of the polls, Rs 1,400 crore have been allocated for funding various projects.
The fund size of special projects for Bundelkhand has been increased from Rs 71.50 crore to Rs 200 crore and a proposal worth Rs 200 crore has been earmarked for making special arrangements for potable water, the chief minister, who holds the finance portfolio, said in his budget speech.

Rs 400 crore has been earmarked for construction of boundary walls around cremation grounds, which is an increase of Rs 200 crore over the previous year's provision.
The government has made a provision of Rs 13,778 crore for rural development and panchayati raj.
A provision of Rs 630 crore has been made to construct rural link roads and small bridges for agriculture marketing facilities under the Samagra Gram Vikas Yojna, whereas another provision of Rs 1,413 crore for construction of other works related to link roads has been made.
The government has set a target of supplying power for at least 16 hours a day in rural areas and 24 hours for urban areas by October 2016.

The state government has made a provision of Rs 100 crore for free supply of laptop to meritorious students of class 10th and 12th for encouraging technical education.
Free laptop is ambitious project of Akhilesh Yadav government.
Ir also made provision of 150 crore for establishment of military schools in Amethi, Mainpuri and Jhansi.
An amount of Rs 50 crore has been proposed for setting up of the state university at Allahabad.
Opposition parties slammed the state's budget presented in the UP Assembly terming it as "disappointing, anti-people and anti-youth" with nothing new in it.
"There is nothing in the budget for villages, poor, labourers, farmers, dalits, backwards," Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly and BSP leader Swami Prasad Maurya said.

"It also has nothing for dalits, backwards and minorities," he said, adding that basic education, health services and youths have been ignored.
"There is no provision for job creation, crashing the hopes of youth, no concrete plan at controlling law and order and there are no adequate long and short financial provisions to resolve the problem of Bundelkhand," the BJP legislature party Suresh Khanna said.