Centre clears Rs 60,000 crore UP road push to strengthen north-south links
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has approved road infrastructure projects worth Rs 50,000-60,000 crore for Uttar Pradesh, including proposals aimed at improving
Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari has approved road infrastructure projects worth Rs 50,000-60,000 crore for Uttar Pradesh, including proposals aimed at improving north-south connectivity, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Monday. Speaking at a function held after the inauguration and foundation-laying of national highway projects worth over Rs 4,850 crore, Adityanath said the new approvals included bypasses for cities with a population of over five lakh and four-lane connectivity to every district headquarters in the state. Read Full Story "Today, Gadkari has also approved road projects worth Rs 50,000-60,000 crore. While Uttar Pradesh already has excellent east-west connectivity through the Purvanchal, Ganga, Bundelkhand, Agra-Lucknow and Gorakhpur Link expressways, new areas have now been identified to strengthen north-south connectivity," Adityanath said. "He has also approved bypasses for cities with a population of over five lakh and four-lane connectivity to every district headquarters in the state," he added.
Thanking Gadkari and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the chief minister said the approvals would strengthen Uttar Pradesh's road network and help accelerate economic growth. He said the state had seen a major transformation over the past decade. "Ten years ago, Uttar Pradesh was facing an identity crisis. There was neither policy nor direction. The state had become synonymous with riots and mafia rule and was counted among the BIMARU states," he said. "Today, Uttar Pradesh is no longer a BIMARU state. It has become a growth engine of India's economy," Adityanath added. He attributed the change to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision, and said Uttar Pradesh had emerged as a model of good governance, better security and world-class infrastructure. The state now had an integrated transport network of roads, railways, metro rail, airports and inland waterways, he said. Praising Gadkari, Adityanath said, "In Nitin Gadkari's dictionary, there is no word called 'no' when it comes to infrastructure development." He also credited the Union minister with changing India's road infrastructure and said the country's first inland waterway between Varanasi and Haldia was launched under his leadership.
Referring to the inauguration of the 63-km Lucknow-Kanpur Greenfield Expressway, Adityanath said it would improve connectivity between the state's two largest metropolitan cities and support the proposed State Capital Region by linking Lucknow with Barabanki, Sitapur, Hardoi, Unnao and Rae Bareli. "This is not merely an expressway. It is a highway that will increase our speed, accelerate our progress and open the doors to future prosperity," he said. The chief minister said the inauguration came after the opening of the Ganga Expressway by Prime Minister Modi on April 29 and the inauguration of the Noida International Airport at Jewar on March 28, and said these projects showed the pace of infrastructure development in the state. He added that Uttar Pradesh, which once struggled with poor roads, now had the country's largest network of operational expressways, one of the largest railway networks, the highest number of operational metro systems and rapidly expanding airport infrastructure.
The BriefWire