Govt plans 2nd supplementary budget ahead of LS elections

LUCKNOW: The Yogi Adityanath government proposes to move second supplementary budget for 2018-2019 in the winter session of state legislature commencing on December 18 to make some populist moves, a senior minister familiar with developments said.

As final touches are still being given to the second supplementary demands of grant for 20182019, senior government officials remained tight-lipped on the issue.

Sources in the state government said the supplementary budget might include allocation of funds for some new or ongoing projects to gain political mileage ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

“The state government will bring second supplementary demands of grant for 2018-2019 in the winter session of state legislature,” a senior minister, who did not wish to be named, said. The state government got the largest budget of Rs 4,28,384.53 crore passed in state legislature for 2018-2019.

Later, the government got the state legislature’s nod for a supplementary budget of ₹34,833.24 crore for current financial year. The first supplementary budget included allocation of funds for important development projects like defence corridor and Jewar international airport, among others.

Though the state government can incorporate more such projects for fund allocation in the annual budget for 2019-2020 (in February-March 2019) it will not be left with any time to take political mileage in Lok Sabha elections.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath is keen to install a 221-metre high statue of Lord Ram (including 50 metre pedestal and 20 metre ‘chhatra’) on the banks of Saryu in Ayodhya.

When asked if the CM would use the occasion to make allocation of funds for the project, another senior minister said, “We cannot disclose what will be incorporated in the second supplementary budget.”

A mid-term review revealed that the state government’s 32 major departments have been able to use only 31.12 per cent funds in 2018-2019.

The chief minister had, thereafter, called a meeting with senior officers and asked them to expedite the pace of work to ensure that major chunk of budget was used before the model code of conduct comes into force.