Akhilesh govt’s freebies to cost state Rs 1500 cr more

More than Rs 1,500 crore out of the supplementary budgetary proposals totalling

Rs 5,861.29 crore, which Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav presented in the Assembly on Monday, are on account of various freebies announced by the state government. Obviously, the government’s initial calculations, as contained in the budget passed in June, have gone awry.

The freebies for which the government now needs extra money include loan waiver for farmers, financial assistance for minority girls, Kanya Vidya Dhan scheme, Rani Laximbai pension scheme and a waiver on the pending dues of powerloom owners.

An extra Rs 400 crore has been demanded for the loan waiver for farmers. This is in addition to a budgetary allocation of Rs 500 crore. The loan waiver scheme, which was part of the SP election manifesto, was announced by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on November 22 on the occasion of Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh’s birthday. Its total cost, according to the government’s own estimates, will be Rs 1,650 crore.

A sum of Rs 250 crore has been sought for financial assistance to minority community girls who have cleared high school examination. The amount is in addition to Rs 100 crore, provided for in the budget. Under this scheme, these girls are entitled to a cash assistance of Rs 30,000.

For Kanya Vidya Dhan scheme, under which girls passing Class XII are given cash assistance of Rs 30,000, the supplementary budget proposals seek Rs 450 crore. In the budget, there was already

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