U.P. budget: Prayagraj gets ₹2,500 crore for Mahakumbh-2025 preparations

Prayagraj gains a budget allocation of ₹2,500 crore for the Mahakumbh-2025 religious fair in Uttar Pradesh, with additional funds for cultural activities and infrastructure. The state also allocates funds for the construction of a national law university and a cultural center. The increase in the Advocates Welfare Fund is welcomed by the lawyer community.

With a mega budget allocation of ₹2,500 crore for the forthcoming mega religious fair of Mahakumbh-2025, Prayagraj emerged as a major gainer following announcements and budget allocations made in Uttar Pradesh Budget-2024-25.

The banks of Sangam where the Magh Mela-2023 was held and which will play host to Mahakumbh-2025 (HT File Photo)

This announcement by UP finance minister Suresh Khanna to boost preparations already underway for a world-class mega religious fair in 2025 was widely welcomed in Sangam city on Monday.

Before this, ₹2,500 crore was also allocated in 2023-24 and ₹621.55 crore was allocated for the financial year 2022-23 for the once-in-12-year fair.

This time, the state government has also made an additional allocation of ₹100 crore in the budget, to promote culture and cultural activities in the run-up to the Mahakumbh-2025.

These mega allocations are expected to provide a further fillip to the ongoing preparations for the fair, which U.P. chief minister Yogi Adityanath has promised will be the grandest ever held and result in a major fillip to infrastructure boost to the district.

Listed among the top priority projects of the state government, the state government has also allocated ₹100 crore for the under-construction Dr Rajendra Prasad National Law University coming up in Jhalwa.

The Uttar Pradesh cabinet had approved the proposal to establish the national law university in Prayagraj on July 29, 2020. For the establishment of this university, the Uttar Pradesh National Law University Prayagraj Act, 2020 was also passed by the Uttar Pradesh Legislature in 2020.

The then President Ram Nath Kovind had laid its foundation stone on September 11, 2021. On December 3, 2021, on the birth anniversary of the first President of India Dr Rajendra Prasad, chief minister Yogi Adityanath had announced that the National Law University in Deoghat, Jhalwa, in Prayagraj would be named after him. As the building of the university is still under construction in Jhalwa, it is functioning from the campus of an engineering college in Phaphamau. The university’s own campus is being constructed on a 28.599-acre land and would finally be spread across 33.58 acres.

In line with the plans of promoting Prayagraj region as a religious tourism centre, an allocation of ₹14.68 crore has also been made for setting up the Nishad Raj Guha Cultural Centre at Shringverpur, located around 40 km from district headquarters of Prayagraj.

With the region being home to a huge lawyer fraternity owing to the Allahabad High Court, the state government’s move to increase the Advocates Welfare Fund from ₹200 crore to ₹500 crore was welcomed. The decision to hike the maximum limit of permissible assistance from ₹1.50 lakh to ₹5 lakh in case of death of an advocate who is a member of Uttar Pradesh Advocate Social Fund Scheme, was also welcomed in Prayagraj.