UP govt tables Rs 13,595 cr Supplementary Budget, expressways get big chunk

Rs 150 cr provided for preparing DPR of the Rs 36,000 cr Ganga Expressway, which is touted to become the world's longest access control expressway when completed

The Yogi Adityanath government on Tuesday tabled its first Supplementary Budget totalling more than Rs 13,595 crore for the current financial year 2019-20 in the Uttar Pradesh legislature.

The Supplementary Budget has allocated liberal doses of funds for various ongoing and new projects and schemes in varied sectors, including industrial development, energy, tourism, social welfare, public works department (PWD), vocational education, heath etc.

The industries department has been allocated more than Rs 2,000 crore in the Budget for flagship expressway projects -- Rs 1,150 crore for Bundelkhand Expressway and Rs 850 crore for Purvanchal Expressway.

Besides, Rs 15 crore has been provided for preparing the detailed project report (DPR) of Ganga Expressway, which is estimated to cost nearly Rs 36,000 crore and is touted to become the world’s longest access control expressway when completed.

The Supplementary Budget document was tabled in Vidhan Sabha by state finance minister Rajesh Agarwal this afternoon. The Budget comprises revenue and capital heads of about Rs 8,381 crore and Rs 5,214 crore respectively.

Rs 600 crore has been allocated for power utility UP Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL), functioning under the state energy department, towards losses incurred under Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY), the central scheme for financial restructuring of power distribution companies (discom).

The Adityanath government has also proposed to allocate Rs 6 core for organising a ‘Deeputsav’ (carnival of lights) during the next Diwali festival in the temple town of Ayodhya. Rs 5 crore has been given for the promotion of ecotourism.

Besides, Rs 175 crore has been provided for 7 cities in UP viz. Meerut, Ghaziabad, Ayodhya, Firozabad, Gorakhpur, Mathura and Shahjahanpur for development as Smart Cities.

The government has allocated Rs 20 crore for the modernisation of registered Islamic theological institutions or madarsas operating in the state.

On February 7, 2019, the Adityanath government had tabled Annual Budget 2019-20 totalling Rs 4.79 trillion. As such, together with Supplementary Budget, the size of UP Budget has already touched Rs 4.92 trillion.

Since, UP tables two Supplementary Budgets during each fiscal, the UP Budget size in 2019-20 is projected to breach the record level of Rs 5 trillion later this year. Supplementary Budget is tabled for getting legislative approval for meeting additional expenses during the course of financial year for ongoing or new projects.

In Annual Budget 2019-20, the government had tamed fiscal deficit at Rs 46,910 crore or 2.97%, within the mandated 3% of the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act.

The state has estimated revenue receipt of Rs 77,640 crore from State Goods & Services Tax (SGST) and Value Added Tax (VAT). The excise duty kitty in 2019-20 is expected at Rs 31,517 crore.

Meanwhile, the monsoon session, which started on July 18, will have about seven sittings.