UP govt tables second supplementary budget

Lucknow: The Yogi Adityanath-led government in Uttar Pradesh presented the supplementary budget of Rs 26,760.67 crore for the financial year 2023- 24 in the state Assembly on Wednesday.

The supplementary budget was presented in the House by state Finance Minister Suresh Khanna on the second day of the winter session.

In this supplementary budget, provisions have been made by the government for many new projects.

Presenting the supplementary budget, Khanna said that the proposed size of the supplementary budget for the financial year 2023-24 is Rs 26,760.67 crore.

Within this, the expenditure on the revenue account is Rs 19,46,39 crore, and the capital account expenditure is Rs 9,714 crore.

The proposed supplementary demand encompasses proposals for a total new demand of Rs 7,421.21 crore, including proposals worth Rs 21,339.46 crore for ongoing schemes.

Additionally, the supplementary budget includes provisions for farmers, allocating Rs 900 crore for free electricity to farmers and Rs 400 crore for clearing dues of sugarcane farmers.

Furthermore, there are provisions in the supplementary budget for the development of the state capital region.

The budget has an allocation of Rs 2000 crore for the Vishwakarma Shram Samman Yojana.

Rs 510 crore for the establishment of the PM Mega Integrated Textile Zone and Apparel Park in Lucknow-Hardoi under the PM Mitra Scheme and Rs 100 crore for the implementation of the Uttar Pradesh Data Centre Policy.

Meanwhile, with a new set of rules prohibiting legislators from carrying phones, political posters or flags in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly coming into force, Samajwadi Party (SP) members continued their protests against the government on the second day of the session too by wearing black clothes.

Shivpal Singh Yadav, SP national general secretary and veteran leader of the party, has raised significant concerns about the Yogi government's supplementary budget.

Shivpal alleged that more than 50 per cent of the budget allocated to any department in the state has not been utilised.

He accused the Yogi government of being fixated on numbers without effective implementation.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav questioned whether the government procured wheat or let private companies handle the purchases.

He highlighted that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on farming equipment ranges from 12 per cent to 18 per cent.

Akhilesh Yadav also sought to know whether the government, with its dual power structure, would lower the GST to support farmers or provide assistance directly from the state treasury.