Yogi gave ₹1,129cr from CM fund to over 71K poor people for treatment

Yogi gave ₹1,129cr from CM fund to over 71K poor people for treatment

Rajiv.Srivastava1@timesgroup.com

Lucknow:11.09.2021

He may have the image of a firebrand leader, but Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has revealed his softer self by going way ahead of his predecessors in extending support to the poor and the distressed through the CM’s discretionary fund. In the past four-and-a-half years, Yogi has disbursed Rs 1,129 crore through the fund to 71,626 people for treatment.

The figures are more than double of what SP president Akhilesh Yadav gave away during his five-year tenure as the UP CM and almost 13 times more than Rs 84 crore released by Mayawati during her term (2007-12).

In the past five months (April1-August 31), during and after the second wave of coronavirus pandemic, around Rs 121 crore was provided as financial assistance to 6,618 beneficiaries.

Officials claimed that UP, with a population of around 24 crore, has fared better in tackling the pandemic as compared to any other state.

‘BJP govt extended ₹1.1k-cr aid to poor patients’

Saving lives and livelihood were the top priorities of the Yogi Adityanath government, they added.

In April, Rs 13.26 crore was provided to around 781 people while in May, this went up to nearly Rs 17.20 crore which was disbursed to over 943 people. In June this year, the government provided Rs 24.85 crore to 1,376 beneficiaries followed by Rs 29.33 crore to 1,497 people in July 2021.

Similarly, Rs 36.44 crore was provided to 2,021 people in August.

According to the details released by the CM’s office regarding the funds, the BJP government has till now extended help of over Rs 1,100 crore to poor patients.

The Samajwadi Party government under Akhilesh Yadav had provided Rs 552 crore to 42,508 people while the Mayawati government gave only Rs 84 crore to around 18,462 people.

Officials in the Chief Minister’s office said after coming to power, CM Yogi Adityanath had issued directives that help should be provided to people who had given up hope for treatment for the want of money. The government not only saved the lives of thousands of people but also ensured that they did not have to sell their land and property to meet medical expenses.

The year wise breakup shows the consistency with which the government provided help to the people.

The CM helped 13,228 people with Rs 184.63 crore in 2017-18 through discretionary fund. In 2018-19, over 17,772 people were given over Rs 256.34 crore, while in 2019-20, about 18,014 people received Rs 280.23 crore.

Around Rs 132.55 crore was provided to 7,269 people in 2020-21. Help was provided for kidney transplants and patients suffering from cancer, heart ailments and other serious diseases.

Officials said the maximum money was given to patients for the treatment of cancer, kidney and heart disease.