Time for a reality check, re: budgetary allocation for Statue of Unity. 1. Net cost of project (current estimate) - Rs. 2500 cr. 2. Approximate GDP of India - Rs. 1,00,00,000 cr. (1 crore crore). i.e. Percentage of GDP spent on statue - 0.025% 3. Amount allocated by Union government in 2014 budget - Rs. 200 cr. i.e. 8% of total project cost, and 0.002% of GDP 4. Yes, amount allocated to various central schemes, e.g. beti bachao, beti padhao = Rs. 100 crore each BUT 5. Amount allocated to Ministry of HRD = approx. Rs. 83,000 cr. i.e. over 8% of GDP, approx. 13% increase over 2013 budget. (Cant find figures on allocation for Women & Child Development.) Substituting caricature for critique convinces nobody except the already partisan; it is what I expect of political rhetoric, but when it comes from supposedly neutral parties, it only undermines the credibility of any of the more genuine, well-founded and constructive criticism that could be offered. I remain absolutely convinced that the statue is a monumental waste of money, money that ought to go to any of a thousand more deserving causes. BUT can we PLEASE not jump to conclusions about the PMs priorities based on this selective and misconstrued comparison? Apples and oranges, people. (Thought experiment: approx. Rs. 2000 cr. allocated in 2014 Budget for the Namami Ganga scheme, to clean and revitalise the river. Anyone going around saying PM reveres Ganga 10x more than Sardar?)
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 12:29:22 +0000