By IANS,
Lucknow : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati’s supplementary budget has an allocation of more than Rs.50 crore essentially for her personal security and comfort.
This came to light in the state assembly here when a supplementary budget of Rs.10,879 crore was tabled Tuesday. Barely four months back, the assembly had passed the state’s annual budget of Rs.1.65 lakh crore for the financial year 2011-2012.
As per the provisions, a total sum of Rs.26 crore has been allocated towards enhancement of her personal security. The amount has been earmarked for purchase of 20 bullet proof Ambassador cars and 10 jammer vehicles.
Significantly, another Rs.23 crore is sought for a bungalow built for her post-chief ministerial days at a whopping cost of about Rs.54 crore.
In keeping with the Uttar Pradesh government’s tradition of allotment of a place of residence to all former chief ministers, the bungalow was allotted to Mayawati during her first stint.
After witnessing several major renovations during her two successive tenures, the bungalow at Lucknow’s most posh Mall Avenue was eventually pulled down during the current stint when she also chose to acquire an adjoining government office building and have a sprawling 100,000 sq ft plot for erecting a grand new chateau type residence for her post-chief ministerial days.
The construction work has been going on there for the past three years and the chief minister has made frequent visits to the place in the recent past.
Interestingly, one of her dream projects – the Rs.120 crore Manyavar Kanshi Ram Green Eco Park – is also set to receive an additional grant of Rs.41 crore. Besides, an allocation of Rs.25 crore has been made for certain modification and expansion of the Rs.1,250 crore Ambedkar Memorial that was started during her first chief ministerial stint as a Rs.150 crore Ambedkar Park.
The chief minister has also earmarked 25 percent of the supplementary budget towards various welfare schemes for the upliftment of poor and downtrodden Dalits.
Thus, a sum of Rs.2,700 crore goes towards such schemes largely named after Kanshi Ram, Ambedkar and other Dalit icons.