Lucknow: A challenge of balancing finances stares the state government in the face as it presents its first supplementary demands for grants for 2021-2022 in the forthcoming session of state legislature commencing here on August 17.
The government had recently announced austerity measures to ensure availability of sufficient funds to fight against Covid-19 and carry out other necessary work in the state.
A need for getting a supplementary budget passed in the state legislature has been felt to finance the new schemes announced in recent months and also provide funds to complete important development projects that chief minister Yogi Adityanath may like to showcase as major achievement ahead of the 2022 assembly elections.
“The state government will present the first supplementary demands for grants for 2021-2022,” said minister for finance Suresh Khanna without giving any details about day for presenting the supplementary budget or its size.
The Uttar Pradesh government had presented its largest ever annual budget for ₹5,50,270.78 crore on February 22, 2021, despite constraints of adverse impact the Covid-19 has had on the state’s economy. So, the state government will obviously face the challenge of funding the largest size UP budget that incorporated new schemes worth ₹27,598. 40 crores.
Yogi had recently announced a new scheme to provide financial assistance to children who lost both or one of their parents in the fight against Covid-19. He also announced a scheme to provide financial assistance to women who lost their husbands and were left with no means to sustain them. The state government may also like to allocate more funds to more such schemes, if any, that may have been announced after the presentation of annual budget for 2021-2022.
{{/usCountry}}Yogi had recently announced a new scheme to provide financial assistance to children who lost both or one of their parents in the fight against Covid-19. He also announced a scheme to provide financial assistance to women who lost their husbands and were left with no means to sustain them. The state government may also like to allocate more funds to more such schemes, if any, that may have been announced after the presentation of annual budget for 2021-2022.
{{/usCountry}}Will this be the last supplementary budget of BJP government before Uttar Pradesh goes into poll mode 2022 assembly elections? The Samajwadi Party government had presented the second supplementary budget along with a vote on account for the first five months of 2017-2018 in the state legislature on December 21, 2016, before going for 2017 assembly elections in the state.
“Since this may be the last budgetary exercise of the state government before announcement of 2022 assembly elections in the state, the focus is likely to be more on welfare measures for different sections of society. The state government will provide budget for schemes that it may like to showcase in 2022 assembly elections. The state government had recently announced austerity measures. It will have to strike a balance between providing enhanced budgetary support to its favourite projects and ensuring that no extra burden is put on the state exchequer as is evident from the austerity measures,” said professor Yashvir Tyagi, former head, economics department, Lucknow University.
Tyagi further said, “The state government had presented its annual budget of ₹5.50 lakh crores and under the prevailing circumstances it may not be able to achieve this level of expenditure.”