UP Govt To Present its Budget Today, More Jobs For Youths on Card

Lucknow: With a focus on infrastructure, agriculture and youth-centric issues, Yogi government is set to present it's budget on Friday, which is said to cross Rs 4 lakah crore.

The move is apparently to woo investors attending the summit on February 21 and 22, and also to increase saffron party’s chance to retain the seat of power in 2019 Lok Sabha election.

The biggest challenge for the Yogi Adityanath government will be infrastructure and public work schemes, where the previous governments have already established their positions. While Yamuna expressway, NCR metro rail project and developments in Lucknow and Noida were completed under Mayawati’s government, Akhilesh Yadav’s regime gave the state Lucknow-Agra Expressway and Lucknow metro.

“We want to complete the development schemes timely. We will allocate funds for all the schemes, and also formulate strict measures to keep a check on the progress. If the cost of the project increases due to delay by the authorities concerned, they will be held responsible for it, and action will be taken,” said State Finance Minister Rajesh Agarwal.

The budget, which will be CM Yogi’s second, will also allocate funds to provide electricity and water in every household of the state, especially in rural areas.

UP BJP spokesman Shalabh Mani Tripathi said that the government is going to announce some big projects. However, Samajwadi Party MLC Sunil Singh Sajan said that the Yogi government has nothing to offer expect take credit for the development done by the SP government.

In an attempt to attract the youth, the UP government is likely to declare 2018-19 as ‘Youth Year’ and may announce schemes which could generate jobs for youths in the state.

Another major announcement could be related to the development of Bundelkhand region. The government is expected to announce some schemes related to water crisis in the region.

Development schemes for PM Modi’s constituency Varanasi, CM Yogi’s home turf Gorakhpur and Deputy CM Keshav Maurya’s Allahabad are also on the cards. A large part of the budget may also be spent on completion of Saryu, Arjun Sagar and Bani Sagar projects.

Besides, the government will be focusing on development of pilgrimage sites. Connecting Kashi, Mathura, Ayodhya and other sites of religious importance by air and road is on the cards.