UP govt unveils Rs 4.79 lakh crore budget for FY'20; Ayodhya gets Rs 300 cr

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government Thursday presented a Rs 4.79 lakh crore budget for 2019-20, and announced populist schemes ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

The annual budget presented by finance minister Rajesh Agarwal in state Assembly is 12 per cent higher than the 2018-19 budget of Rs 4,28,384.52 crore.

The budget includes new schemes totalling Rs 21,212.95 crore.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was present in the Assembly when the finance minister read out the budget speech punctuated with Urdu couplets.

This is the third budget of the Adityanath government.

Agarwal announced a number of new populist schemes, including 'Kanya Sumangala Yojana' to raise health and educational standard of girls, brighten their future and bring in a positive change in the thinking towards women.

An amount of Rs 1,200 crore has been proposed for the Yojana.

For conservation of bovine cattle, the government has allotted Rs 247.60 crore towards maintenance and construction of 'gaushalas' in rural areas.

As per the budget estimate for 2019-20, the total receipts would be Rs 4,70,684.48 crore. The amount includes Rs 3,91,734.40 crore of revenue receipts and Rs 78,950.08 crore of capital receipts.

The tax revenue is pegged at Rs 2,93,039.17 crore, including Rs 1,40,176 crore of the state's own tax revenue and Rs 1,52,863.17 crore of the state's share in the central taxes.

The total state expenditure is estimated at Rs 4,79,701.10 crore. It includes Rs 3,63,957.04 crore of revenue expenditure and Rs 1,15,744.06 crore of capital expenditure.

A revenue saving of Rs 27,777.36 crore is estimated in the year 2019-20.

The state's fiscal deficit has been pegged at Rs 46,910.62 crore in 2019-20.

The state's debt liability is estimated at 29.98 per cent of the state's GDP.

After deducting total expenditure from the receipts of consolidated fund, a deficit of Rs 9,016.62 crore has been projected for next fiscal.

Net receipts of Rs 9,500 crore is expected from public account. The closing balance for 2019-20 is estimated at Rs 8,708.85 crore in which opening balance of Rs 8,225.47 crore has been taken into account.

Ayodhya Thursday got a significant share in the state's Budget, including Rs 200 crore for an airport and Rs 101 crore for the development of tourist spots in the city.

As part of its focus on development and beautification of religious places in the state, the UP government has selected Ayodhya, Varanasi, Mathura and Allahabad while earmarking funds in the annual budget for 2019-20.

The allocation for Ayodhya comes amid pressure on the BJP-led government at the Centre and in the state over the construction of a Ram temple at the disputed site in the city, as the Lok Sabha elections near.

In his Budget speech in the state assembly, Finance Minister Rajesh Agarwal said Shri Kashi Vishwanath Special Area Development Board has been set up to ensure implementation of Shri Kashi Vishwanath Mandir Expansion Scheme in Varanasi.

He said Rs 207 crore has been pegged for the expansion and beautification of the road from the Ganga bank to Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi.

A budgetary provision of Rs 16 crore has been made to set up a Vaidik Vigyan Kendra in Kashi Hindu Vishwavidyalaya in the city and Rs 27 crore has been set aside for integrated development of major tourist places in Garh Mukteshwar..

While Rs 8.38 crore has been proposed to get an auditorium constructed between Mathura-Vridavan, a provision of Rs 5 crore has been made for construction of boundary walls around public Ramlila grounds.

A provision of Rs 1 crore has been made to strengthen Vrindavan Shodh Sansthan and Rs 125 crore allocated for infrastructural facilities in Uttar Pradesh Brij Tirtha.

The minister sad Rs 70 crore has been marked for implementation of Tourism Policy-2018 and another Rs 50 crore for pro-poor tourism.

It is proposed in the Budget to strengthen Lahartara Talab, Kabir Sthal and Seergovardhanpur, the birth place of Guru Ravidas, in Varanasi.

It is also proposed to develop Rishi Bhardwaj Ashram and Shringverpur Dham in Allahabad.

Moreover, it is also proposed to ensure development of Vindhyachal and Naimisharanya; Sarnath, Shravasti, Kushinagar, Kapilvastu, Kaushambi and Sankisa under Buddhist Circuit; Shakumbhari Devi and Shukratal; Tulsi Peeth in Rajapur, Chitrakoot; Maharaja Suheldeo site and Chittaura Lake in Bahraich; and Bijli Pasi Qila in Lucknow.

Of total Rs 1,000 crore allocated for construction, expansion and strengthening of airstrips in Uttar Pradesh, Rs 800 crore have been proposed to acquire land for the Jewar airport.

An allocation of Rs 150 crore has also been made for providing air services under the UP Civil Aviation Promotion Policy-2017 and the Regional Connectivity Scheme.