When Yogi Adityanath was elected the CM of Uttar Pradesh, no one expected the hectic pace at which he would work. However, the surprise CM set the ball rolling as soon as he assumed office, and has been in the news almost every day for his work style and the decisions that he has been making. From making changes in the education system and ordering 24 hour power supply in district headquarters, to setting up anti-romeo squads and announcing farm loan waivers – Yogi Adityanad has been moving at a phenomenal speed, ordering sweeping changes – some controversial, others welcome.
In his second cabinet meeting, which he chaired on Tuesday, the UP CM had announced more projects and plans. We take a look at some of the major plans and changes that he has implemented since taking over as the CM of UP, and the how they have been received:
Declare incomes: One of his first moves after assuming office was to give a 15 day deadline to all his ministers and bureaucrats to provide details about their income, assets and even liabilities, in a format provided by the Chief Minister’s office. The move, which is aimed at uprooting corruption that is rampant in the state, was welcomed as a means of bringing more transparency in the system.
Clean government offices: Soon after assuming office, Yogi Adityanath made all his ministers take a cleanliness pledge. He inspected government offices and banned the sale, consumption and distribution of pan, pan masala, gutka and plastic bag from office premises, in a bid to keep the offices clean. The CM also asked his staff to spend two hours every week on cleanliness and has fixed Fridays as the day when state staff members should clean their premises. This has also led to many shopkeepers putting up notices outside their shops urging customers to help maintain cleanliness and use dust bins.
Anti-Romeo squads: Among the controversial moves announced by the government was the formation of anti-romeo squads, meant to check eve teasers and incidences of harassment of women. It was discovered that in the process of policing, the special squads made up of police and vigilantes, had been targeting a number of honest couples and young men. This prompted Yogi Adityanath to issue a directive ordering all squads to ensure that the law is followed, and to not resort to actions such as shaving heads of those caught eve teasing, making them stand in the murgha position and blackening of faces. Women activists from across the country have also demanded the dismantling of the anti-romeo squads.
Crackdown on illegal abattoirs: Another controversial move was the closure of illegal abattoirs across the state. In a bid to protect cows, many meat shops, some which operate with proper licences and some even government – owned, have been burnt or shut down, affecting businesses and the livelihoods of many who depend on it. Shop owners have also complained that police have been approaching them for bribes to ensure that they don’t have problems in the future.
Make UP Pothole free: Soon after becoming the CM, the Yogi Adityanath had put forth a proposal to make UP pot hole free by June 15. This has been approved in the second cabinet meeting held by Yogi Adityanath, and a budget of Rs 4,000 crores has been earmarked for the same.
Work 18 hour days: A directive that caused much heartburn among bureaucrats, Yogi, who is a self-proclaimed workaholic, directed that only those who are ready to work hard should continue, and the others are welcome to leave. He set this directive in motion by starting his department meetings in the evenings, so that routine work does not get affected, and continuing till midnight. This has caused many officers to complain that putting in less than eight hours of sleep a day would affect their health in the long run.
Set up business incubator: In a bid to boost employment in the state, the Chief Minister has asked officials to prepare detailed plans on IT Parks and start up incubators in the state. These measures, according to Yogi Adityanath, will ensure that 70 lakh people get employment opportunities in the next five years.
For the farmers: On April 4, the Yogi Government had announced a farm loan waiver to the tune of Rs 36,359 crores, hence fulfilling his poll promise. The move would entail waiving off crop loans of up to Rs 1 lakh for small and marginal farmers in the state, apart from writing off Rs 5,630 crore in non-performing assets of 7,00,000 farmers. The move has, however, drawn criticism from various quarters with many saying that it is unfair for those who have paid off their loans after many hardships. Critics also state that small and marginal farmers, to whom the loan waiver is targeted, usually get their loans from non institutional sources – hence the move may not benefit a large number of these farmers. The government has also decided to purchase 1 lakh metric ton potatoes from the state’s farmers, at a price of Rs 487/quintal. Also, with arrears pertaining to the current fiscal season amounting to over Rs 6,000 crores, the Yogi Adityanath Government has asked state private sugar mills to settle arrears to farmers within a month.
Cheap canteens: The Yogi Government has announced plans of starting a canteen service so that the poorest of the poor can afford meals. The Government, under this scheme, will provide breakfast at Rs. 3 and afternoon meals at Rs 5 in all 14 municipal corporations across the state. This will be implemented on a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. While the breakfast menu will include porridge, idli-sambhar, poha and tea, the afternoon meals will include chapatti, vegetable, dal and rice.
Overhaul education: In a bid to overhaul the education system, Yogi Adityanath has put forth a number of measures – biometric attendance to be mandatory for all teachers, all students in classes 9 to 12 need to have 80 percent attendance, English will be taught to students from nursery itself, girl students will receive mandatory self defense training, centres where mass cheating happens to be blacklisted, FIR would be filed against teachers who are found to be running private coaching institutes.
Power supply: The second Cabinet meeting chaired by Yogi Adityanath has announced that district headquarters and all religious places will get 24-hour power supply. The CM has also directed the power department to ensure that all burnt out or defective transformers should be replaced immediately. Yogi Adityanath has also ordered for 18 hour power supply to all villages. The Yogi Government plans to make the state energy efficient by 2018.
6 AIIMS, 25 new medical colleges: The UP Government has started work on the setting up of six new All India Institutes of Medical sciences and 25 other medical colleges across the country. This is one of the poll promises that BJP had made during the elections.
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