It’s better late than never. The Akhilesh Yadav Government in Uttar Pradesh has dumped its populist schemes to unlock funds for infrastructure development. This is a brave move, but it comes after the party suffered defeat
When Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav entered Tilak Hall to address the post-Budget presentation, there was expectation in the air. By that time it was public that the Samajwadi Party Government had shelved the much-hyped schemes like free distribution of laptops to the class XII pass students and distribution of doles like unemployment allowance and Kanya Vidya Dhan as the budget document was silent on the fund allocation for these schemes. But everyone wanted to hear what Mr Yadav would say and how he would explain Government’s sudden U-turn.
Mr Yadav came and read out his prepared speech. But reporters were not there to listen to what he wanted to say. They were looking for the answer on whether his Government has actually shelved the populist schemes. Mr Yadav said, “Why should I say in yes or no. It is up to you to read between the lines.” The explanation he gave for shelving these projects was not convincing. But one thing was clear: His Government had switched over from populist to infrastructure mode. This is in fact a good sign for Uttar Pradesh.
The distribution of free laptops, unemployment allowance and Kanya Vidya Dhan were the main USPs for the Samajwadi Party during the lok Sabha election. All the billboards and the hoardings across the State prominently talked about it. In almost every election meeting, Mr Yadav and his father Mulayam Singh Yadav had talked about how Samajwadi Party had fulfilled its election promises. Mr Yadav even claimed that many neighbouring States had copied his laptop distribution project and were implementing it in their own ways.
There was hope that these freebie schemes would fetch votes for the party. The hopes were dashed on May 16 after the election result was announced. Within a couple of days, State Mining Minister in the Akhilesh Yadav Government, Gyatri Prajapati, threw a hint that the Government was contemplating to scrap freebie schemes. His argument was blunt. He said: “When youth have not voted for us, why should Government give them free laptops and money.” The Samajwadi Party was looking for a quid pro quo situation, but it did not happen.
The explanation from Mr Yadav was more nuanced. “We are focussing on building infrastructure. The laptop and unemployment allowance had helped a small section of the society. Now, we are thinking big. Instead of unemployment allowance, the Government has enforced Samajwadi Pension Scheme that would help families living below the poverty line. The Government has sanctioned Rs2,424 crore for this scheme. The highlight of this year’s budget is that the Samajwadi Party Government would focus more on building infrastructure so that more and more people could avail the benefits of Government projects. Over 75 per cent of plan expenditure would be meant for development of agriculture, farmer and rural areas”, the Chief Minister said.
In last two years, the State Government has spent over Rs10,000 crore for the three schemes of free distribution of laptops, unemployment allowance and Kanya Vidya Dhan. Over 14 lakh students got laptops in the last two years, for which Government spent Rs4,838 crore; around 25 lakh got unemployment allowance at the cost of Rs2,700 crore; and, Rs1,800 crore was spent on Kanya Vidya Dhan. A sum of Rs350 crore was spent on Hamari Beti Uska Kal. The Yadav Government had also announced free distribution of sarees and blankets, and Rs100 crore was proposed for this in 2013-2014 budget. But the scheme had failed to take off.
In any case, these schemes have now come to an end. The money saved on these projects will go into building roads, improving power supply, linking villages with State highways and providing water to the people in the rural and urban areas. This is reflected in the budget proposals as funds for power schemes have increased from Rs24,000 crore to Rs44,000 crore. The road budget has gone up by 48 per cent and urban development budget by 44 per cent. The budget size too has increased by 17 per cent.
In the infrastructure sector, the Government has allocated Rs49,108 crore — about 82 per cent higher than the previous years — to strengthen and maintain infrastructure facilities such as roads and bridges, and the development of irrigation and power. Besides, Rs2,593 crore is proposed for the work under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana under which a target has been set to upgrade 3,000 km of road under the second phase of the scheme.
A provision of Rs1,500 crore has been made under lohia Gramin Vikas Yojana and over Rs800 crore has been earmarked for construction of link roads for unlinked habitats.
The State Government has made a provision of Rs23,928 crore for power projects to refurbish the power system. It has also made an allocation of Rs1,000 crore for accelerated economic development programme. These are good signs for Uttar Pradesh.