A day after Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram presented a populist Budget and announced Rs 60,000 crore loan waiver package for small and marginal farmers, UP Chief Minister Mayawati announced the recruitment of over one lakh sanitation workers in each of the 1.08 lakh revenue villages of the state. Sources said the employment scheme was an attempt to counter the goodwill generated by the loan waiver package. The undue haste of the UP Government in announcing the scheme in the Assembly on March 1 was evident from the fact that none in the top echelons of the state's bureaucracy was aware of the CM's announcement. Sources said the formal Cabinet approval was obtained on February 29. The Cabinet note was prepared by the Panchayati Raj Department. The state Budget for 2008-09, presented by Finance Minister Lalji Verma on February 12, made no mention of the ambitious scheme for providing employment to over one lakh unemployed youth of the Valmiki community (a Dalit caste), who are the traditional vote bank of the Congress. Moreover, such an ambitious scheme involves huge expenditure in terms of salaries and there is no provision for it in the Budget for the next fiscal 2008-09. As per the Government order, dated March 1, as many as 1,08,848 sanitation workers are proposed to be appointed in pay scale of Rs 2,550-3,200. Hiring these workers would entail an annual expenditure of Rs 850 crore to the state exchequer.