Mayawati's budget: Rs 50 crore for personal comfort!

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati's state supplementary budget has an allocation of more than Rs 50 crore (Rs 500 million), essentially for personal security and comfort.

This came to light on the floor of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly where a supplementary budget of Rs 10,879 crore (Rs 108.79 billion) was tabled during the course of the on-going monsoon session in Lucknow on Tuesday.

Barely four months ago, the UP Assembly had passed the state's annual budget of Rs 1.65 lakh crore (Rs 1.65 trillion) for the financial year 2011-2012.

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According to the provisions, a total sum of Rs 26 crore (Rs 260 million) has been allocated towards enhancement of Mayawati's personal security.

The amount has been earmarked for purchase of 20 bullet-proof Ambassador cars and 10 jammer vehicles.

Significantly, another dose of Rs 23 crore (Rs 230 million) is sought to be injected into a bungalow built for her post-chief ministerial days at a whopping Rs 54 crore (Rs 540 million).

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In keeping with UP 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 as chief minister.

After witnessing several major renovations during her two successive tenures, the bungalow at Lucknow's 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 square feet plot for erecting a grand, new chateau type residence for her post-chief ministerial days.

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While the construction work had been going on there for the past three years, her frequent visits to the place in the recent past apparently raised her requirements for which a fresh allocation of Rs 23 crore had now been made in the State's supplementary budget.

Interestingly, one of her dream projects -- the Rs 120-crore (Rs 1.20 billion) Manyavar Kanshi Ram Green Eco Park -- is also all set to receive an additional grant of Rs 41 crore (Rs 410 million).

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Besides, an allocation of Rs 25 crore (Rs 250 million) has been made for certain modifications and expansion of the Rs 1,250-crore (Rs 12.50-billion) Ambedkar Memorial that was started in her first stint as a Rs 150 crore (Rs 1.50 billion) Ambedkar Park.

However, the chief minister has also taken care to earmark 25 per cent of the supplementary budget towards various welfare schemes for the upliftment of poor and downtrodden Dalits.

Thus, a sum of Rs 2,700 crore (Rs 27 billion) goes towards such schemes largely named after Kanshi Ram, Ambedkar and other key Dalit icons.