Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, on Saturday, directed the ministers to ensure utilisation of the budgetary grants of their respective departments and to also apprise the people about the achievements of their departments. He said the focus of the budget would be on people’s welfare.
The chief minister held marathon meetings with the ministers and senior officials of the departments regarding the annual budget of over Rs 5.16 lakh crore. He said the government was accountable to the people and directed the ministers to keep touring the districts and also remain in touch with the Union ministries for the release of the pending grants.
The chief minister directed the ministers to ensure that the utilisation certificates for the Centrally-sponsored schemes were submitted to the Union ministers within the current fiscal 2020-21. As per the information presented in the meeting, against a provision of Rs 5.36 lakh crore in the budget for the current fiscal, financial sanctions of Rs 3.82 lakh crore have been released so far, which is 71.2 per cent of the budget. Against the financial sanction of Rs 3.82 lakh crore, the departments have allocated Rs 3.26 lakh crore, which is 85.9 per cent of the total financial sanctions. Against utilisation certificates of Rs 94.778 crore to be sent to the Union government, so far the state government has sent certificates for Rs 81,369 crore, which is 85.6 per cent of the target.
The annual budget for the next fiscal 2021-22 is likely to be presented during the budget session of the UP Assembly in February. This will be the fifth and the last budget of the Yogi Adityanath government which was assumed office in March 2017. UP will go to polls in February 2022 and the government will table the vote on account for 2022-23 fiscal in February next year. Expressing satisfaction at the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, Yogi Adityanath said, “It is a matter of great satisfaction for the government that we were able to save the lives and livelihood of the 24 crore people of the state during the worst ever calamity.” He said the government was also able to provide employment to the youth during the pandemic.
The chief minister said that the campaign for job creation would continue and generation of fresh jobs should be the important component of all the new schemes to be launched by the government. Yogi Adityanath directed rigorous monitoring of the ongoing works of electrification and also cleared the outstanding of the executing agencies.
He said the convenience of the power consumers was the main objective of his government and there should be no complaints of overbilling and flaws in smart meters.
The chief minister said that accountability should be fixed for the lapses by the officers and employees of the power distribution companies. He also directed for an integrated system for the payment of electricity dues by the government departments to the power distribution companies.
Yogi Adityanath said that construction of community toilets and rural secretariat be expedited and the pending works of the PWD should be completed within the approved estimate.
He said as the India-Nepal border was of strategic importance for the country, the construction of border roads should be expedited.
“Top priority should be accorded to the completion of the Saryu canal and Madhya Ganga canal,” he added.
The chief minister asked the officials to expedite the Smart City projects and resolve all issues pending at the district level on priority. He said special efforts were needed for ensuring that the benefit of the Urban Livelihood Mission reached the beneficiaries.
Yogi Adityanath said the government was committed to providing shelter to all under the Housing for All project. He said the beneficiaries were identified and the requirement of funds should be sent to the Centre. The chief minister also reviewed the progress of construction and renovation of the buildings of government intermediate colleges and the appointment of teachers in Sanskrit schools. The other issues covered in the meeting were expediting the process of land acquisition for the Gang Expressway project, implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Bundelkhand and Vindhya regions and the Namami Gange project. The chief minister also directed officials to launch an integrated scheme for curbing the problem of stubble burning by the farmers.