Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that the efficient implementation of the Central government-sponsored schemes like Swachh Bharat, Prime Minister’s Housing Scheme and Saubhagya Scheme for providing free electricity connection to the poor and Ayushman Bharat health scheme had given a clear image makeover to the once laggard state which has emerged as favoured destination for the investors.
The CM said the government was looking forward to present the next budget of 2019-10 in February next year so that UP could take yet another leap on the path of development.
“Ensuring that the benefits of welfare scheme reach the beneficiaries without any discrimination is the prerequisite for changing the perception about Uttar Pradesh and making it the preferred destination for investors,” Yogi said in the UP Assembly on Thursday in his address ahead of the passage of the second supplementary grants amounting to Rs 8,054 crore.
Yogi reiterated his resolve that his government has ensured that the benefit of all the government schemes reach all sections of society without discrimination on the basis of caste and religion as was the practice during the previous Samajwadi Party regime.
The Chief Minister said with the passage of the second supplementary grants, UP had become the number one state of India in terms of the size of the budget, which is now Rs 4.70 lakh crore.
“It was often said in national seminar circuit and among the experts of development that India will surge ahead if the centrally-sponsored schemes for the poor are successfully implemented across the states. I can say with pride that with the support of all stakeholders, UP has performed well and achieved the targets, which has brought positive change in the lives of the teeming millions of poor people of the state,” Yogi said.
“UP has made a big leap in the implementation of the sanitation programme. Against the earlier 44 per cent coverage in the state and national average of 96 per cent, Uttar Pradesh has achieved 100 per cent sanitation coverage where as many as 2.49 crore families have been provided toilets as per the baseline survey. Around 44 lakh families not covered in the baseline survey will also be covered by the sanitation programme,” the CM said.
“Excellent team work has ensured the success of the Prime Minister’s Housing Scheme both in rural and urban areas. The deserving poor families from the Dalit and deprived sections of society have so far been provided 8.81 lakh housing units and one lakh more will be provided houses by the end of the current 2018-19 fiscal. For the urban areas, 7.25 lakh housing units have been sanctioned and one lakh families have been provided the houses,” the Chief Minister said.
On the availability of power and investment friendly atmosphere, the CM said, “We have ensured power supply to all parts of the state without discrimination. Be it Etawah or Lucknow, all are getting round-the-clock power supply and the availability of power has also added to the agriculture productivity as farmers are using cheap power for agricultural operations.”
“Security, peace, stable policy regime and freedom from the web of bureaucratic red tape are the prerequisite for investor-friendly environment and we have ensured this and also implemented ease of doing business (EODB), the CM said, and added, “The budget size has now equaled the total investment proposals signed during the UP Investors’ Summit and it is a good sign that UP is changing.”