With stability funds for the minimum support price of perishable crops and sanction of 15,000 solar pumps for the development and beautification of tourism facilities in Varanasi and Ayodhya, the Yogi Adityanath-led BJP government on Friday tabled a budget of ₹6.15 lakh crore.
Mr. Adityanath said the budget, his sixth since 2017, kept in mind the “overall development” of the State and of all sections. The budget reflected the philosophy of the BJP’s Lok Kalyan Sankalp Patra, its election manifesto, he said. Out of the 130 resolutions mentioned in it, 97 were addressed in the budget, he said.
In the last six years, the unemployment rate in UP dropped from 18% to 2.9%, State finance minister Suresh Khanna said, as he presented the budget for the year 2022-2023.
The BJP has been in power in UP since March 2017 and recently entered a second term under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
Mr. Khanna said that the government had provided employment to 1.61 crore youth in the private sector through private investment. More than 60 lakh youth were self-employed, the government said, adding that it had provided government jobs to 4.5 lakh youth over the last five years.
The government has set itself a target of creating 32 crore man-days for 2022-2023 under MNREGA. In 2021-22, the State had created 26 crore man-days, the government said.
The budget also included a targetted investment of ₹40,000 crore under the Information Technology and Electronics Industry Policy for the next five years. Through this, four lakh individuals would get employment, the government said.
BJP’s Hindu cultural narrative
The new budget has several allocations made for the development of Varanasi and Ayodhya, two places linked to the BJP’s Hindu cultural narrative and temple politics.
The budget has proposed ₹100 crore each for the development and beautification of tourism facilities in Varanasi and Ayodhya, and ₹500 crore for the construction of a model 4-lane road from Rajghat bridge to Ramnagar in the opposite direction of Ganga Ghat for the convenience of Kashi Vishwanath Jyotirlinga Darshan and Ganga Aarti Darshan. The budget also proposed ₹300 crore for the construction of an approach road to the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, ₹209 crore for the development of public facilities and parking in the town. In Varanasi, the budget also proposed ₹77 crore for the expansion of the approach road from Nirmal Ganga bank to Kashi Vishwanath Dham.
The budget included several announcements for farmers, including the setting up of 15,000 solar pumps in the year 2022-2023. It also proposed two free LPG cylinder refills for the beneficiaries of the Ujjawala Scheme as well as ₹266 crore for the state’s special security force entrusted with the security of courts, airports, banks, financial institutions, historical and religious places, including those in Ayodhya, Kashi, Mathura and the Taj Mahal.
However, Opposition Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav said it was not a budget but a “batwara.”
He asked the BJP government to explain why it had yet to fulfill its promise of doubling income of farmers by 2022.
Mr. Yadav said that while government data showed there were jobs, on the ground youth were still desperate for jobs and employment.
BSP chief Mayawati said the budget was a worn-out one and lacked credibility. She asked till when would the government continue to pull wool over the eyes of the public.
She asked where was the basic work done by the “double engine government” that should have been carried out on a priority basis to bring “ache din” into the lives of crores of people in the State.
