UP govt spent 38% of budget till January 2018, allocation for social sector in 2018-19 slips, many schemes dropped

By Umesh Babu*
The Uttar Pradesh budget papers, presented by the state government in the assembly on February 16, even as suggesting an 11.4% rise in allocations -- from Rs 4,17,257 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 4,56,248 crore in 2018-19 -- have, ironically, also revealed that the total expenditure met during 2017-18 till January 2018 was just 37.91%. It means, till March-end, the government would need to spend 62% of the budget amount.
While this suggests the shameless style of working of an elected political party, sectorwise details show that in agriculture Rs 36,687.31 crore was allocated in 2017-18, but only Rs 20,403.49 crore (55.61%) could be spent till January 2018. The spending for scheduled tribes (ST) was 24.16% of the allocation, for scheduled castes (SCs) it was 45.69%, for the handicapped and backward classes it was 26%, for woman and child it was 43.3%, and for forest and environment it was 47.56%.
Increase in the current budget allocation stands in sharp contrast to all public pronouncements on welfare state. For instance, the subsidy on certified seeds, which was Rs 65 crore in 20117-18, has been reduced to Rs 55 crore in 2018-19. Similarly several other schemes that benefits to the farmers have seen a reduction in budgetary allocations.
The forest working people have suffered from the relief they were getting. The state government has abandoned many schemes that directly benefit them. This is reflected in the Social Forestry District Plan expenditure, which was Rs 230.51, but has been reduced to Rs 120 crore for 2018-19.
On the other hand, even as allocating Rs 24,448 crore for SCs, Rs 2,307 crore of this amount had been set aside as loan to power sector companies, and Rs 1,713 crore will go to canal and highways construction. A similar pattern can be observed in allocations for schemes meantmfor dairying, fisheries, sugarcane subsidy, etc., many of whom have seen a massive reduction or have been abandoned altogether.
The labour and employment department has started winding up its offices by reducing budget in the activities that matter for employment exchanges and employment to the youth. For example, for employment exchange offices, there is a budget allocation of Rs 66 crore, but the allocation for facilitating training and distributing materials is just Rs 0.151 crore for the entire state!
The state governments appears to have made a mockery of the health department budget. It is manipulated figures by increasing and decreasing allocations for two separate purposes -- salary and ‘charges for professional and other services’. The amount reduced and increased is exactly Rs 1,177.84 crore. Similar lapses are found everywhere in the health sector.
For woman and child welfare, the budget has been increased from Rs 6,353 crore to Rs 7,481 crore, but allocations in schemes like maternal welfare, nutritional feeding to malnourished children, nutritional feeding to pregnant women have been reduced. Some of the schemes have been abandoned altogether.
---
*Delhi Solidarity Group. Click HERE for detailed analysis

Comments

राजेश देशज said…

ऐसे आयेंगे अच्छे दिन ?????????

February 28, 2018

Rushdie, Pamuk, 260 writers tell Modi: Aatish episode casts chill on public discourse

Counterview Desk
As many as 260 writers, journalists, artists, academics and activists across the world, including Salman Rushdie, British Indian novelist, Orhan Pamuk, Turkish novelist and recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize in literature, and Margaret Atwood, Canadian poet and novelist, have called upon Prime Minister Narendra Modi to review the decision to strip British Indian writer Aatish Taseer of his overseas Indian citizenship.

Church in India 'seems to have lost' moral compass of unequivocal support to the poor

By Fr Cedric Prakash SJ*
In 2017, Pope Francis dedicated a special day, to be observed by the Universal Church, every year, as the ‘World Day of the Poor’. This year it will be observed on November 17 on the theme ‘The hope of the poor shall not perish for ever’; in a message for the day Pope Francis says:

There may have been Buddhist stupa at Babri site during Gupta period: Archeologist

By Rajiv Shah
A top-notch archeologist, Prof Supriya Varma, who served as an observer during the excavation of the Babri Masjid site in early 2000s along with another archeologist, Jaya Menon, has controversially stated that not only was there "no temple under the Babri Masjid”, if one goes “beyond” the 12th century to 4th to 6th century, i.e. the Gupta period, “there seems to be a Buddhist stupa.”

VHP doesn't represent all Hindus, Sunni Waqf Board all Muslims: NAPM on SC ruling

Counterview Desk
India's top civil rights network, National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), even as describing the Supreme Court's Ayodhya judgement unjust, has said, it is an "assault on the secular fabric of the Constitution". In a statement signed by top social workers and activists, NAPM said, "The judgement conveys an impression to Muslims that, despite being equal citizens of the country, their rights are not equal before the law."

'First time' since 1970s poverty up 10%, consumer spending down 4%: GoI survey

By Our Representative
In what may prove to be a major embarrassment for the Government of India (GoI), a new official survey, carried out in 207-18, has reportedly said that average consumer spending in India fell by more than 4% the previous six years "primarily driven by slackening rural demand." The survey, "Key Indicators: Household Consumer Expenditure in India”, carried out by the National Statistical Office (NSO), says that money spent per person in a month fell by 3.7% from Rs 1,501 in 2011-12 to Rs 1,446 in 2017-18.

As fear 'grips' right liberals, Arvind Panagariya, too, would be declared anti-national?

By Rajiv Shah
It is surely well-known by now that India's top people in the power-that-be have been castigating all those who disagree with them as "anti-nationals". Nothing unusual. If till yesterday only "secular liberals", and "left-liberals" were declared anti-national, facts, however, appear to have begun surfacing that, now, guns are being trained against those who could be qualified as right liberals, too. Let me be specific.

National award winning film 'Hellaro' co-produced by three chartered accountants

By Our Representative
“Hellaro”, a Gujarati feature film produced by Saarthi Productions in association with Harfanmaula Films (Ahmedabad) was declared as the Best Feature Film at the National Film Awards which was conferred by the Government of India. The film also won the Special Jury Award for the Best Actress to all the 13 actresses of the film.
Ashish Patel produced the movie, which has been co-produced three co-producers, Aayush Patel, Prateek Gupta and Mit Jani, all of whom, interestingly, started their filmmaking journey after becoming Chartered Accountants in 2012.
“Hellaro” is directed by Abhishek Shah, who has been working in Gujarati theatre since the past 17 years as writer, director and actor and has received numerous awards for his plays. He has also worked as a casting director for 12 films.
“Hellaro” is a period drama based in Kutch and has been co-written by Abhishek Shah and Prateek Gupta. Gupta previously received the Best Debut Director Award, along with Mit Jan…

Counterview

Search This Blog