New Delhi: What really the ‘double engine’ government in Uttar Pradesh means can well be substantiated by the quantum of Central assistance the state government has received over the last four and a half years ensuring effective implementation of the developmental schemes.
The Modi government at the Centre has given as much as over Rs 201584 crore to the Yogi government in Uttar Pradesh from 2017-18 till August 31,21 as compared to just Rs 136832.63 crore received during the last regime in the state from 2012-13 to 2016-17. In fact, during the previous government, the Central government headed by Congress -led UPA released Rs 17337.78 crore in 2012-13 and about Rs 22405.16 crore in 2013-14. Ever since the Modi government came into power at the Centre, the state assistance rose substantially to Rs 32691.47 crore in 2014-15, Rs 31861.33 crore in 2015-16 and Rs 32536.86 in 2016-17 which also underlines the fact that no discrimination was done in this regard.
Yogi govt received over Rs 2 lakh crore as Central assistance since 2017
The development of Uttar Pradesh gained momentum only when the ‘double engine’ government in UP was well supported by the Central government which paid rich dividends. The Centre sent funds for the development to the tune of Rs 40648.44 crore in 2017-18, Rs 42988.48 crore in 2018-19, Rs 44043.96 crore, Rs 57487.59 crore in 2020-21 and over Rs 16415.61 crore in 2021-22 till August 31,21.
As a matter of fact, the benefits of ‘double engine’ government came to fore only after the Yogi government came into being here and received all support of the Central government, for the first time in decades. The progress of UP went northwards largely because of the combined efforts of the governments at the Centre and the state. Time and again, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken about the benefits of ‘double engine’ government i.e in the state and the Centre. Recently, he mentioned it during his visit to Aligarh on Tuesday last.
No paucity of funds for developmental works
No wonder, Uttar Pradesh reached the top position in effective implementation of about 90 percent of the Central schemes which included PM Awas Yojana, PM Employment Generation Programme, Highest jobs in MSME units, Ujjwala Scheme, Saubhagya Scheme, Construction of personal toilets,Smart Cities Award 2020 etc.
This has been in the sharp contrast to the previous regime as the SP government tried to impede the development and resisted implementation of several welfare schemes of the Centre. It denied the people of UP the benefits of welfare schemes.