Claiming that the face of Uttar Pradesh was changing fast, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh dedicated to the people and laid foundation stones of national highway projects worth Rs 1.25 lakh crore across Uttar Pradesh.
Projects worth Rs 1,969.57 crore were also either dedicated or their foundation stones were laid under Namami Gange programme. Foundation stone of Lucknow-Kanpur elevated greenfield expressway was also laid.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was also present on the occasion.
Praising Rajnath Singh, who represents Lucknow in the Lok Sabha, Gadkari said the utilisation of MP Local Area Development Fund had changed the face of the state capital.
“There has been holistic development in Uttar Pradesh. During the previous regimes, we faced hurdles as the successive governments did not take initiatives in land acquisition. Things changed as Yogi Adityanath came to power and now roads are being constructed at a faster speed in UP,” Gadkari said while addressing the gathering at Jhulelal Park on the banks of Gomti river in Lucknow on Thursday.
He said that infrastructure-wise, Lucknow had witnessed positive changes and credit should goes to Rajnathji.
“On his (Rajnath’s) advise, we have included Gomti river under the Namami Gange scheme and Rs 300 crore have been allotted for it,” Gadkari said.
Elaborating the achievements of his department, Gadkari said the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government had doubled the speed of construction of roads while Rs 12,000 crore work was underway for waterways.
He also congratulated the UP government for the successful Kumbh Mela, which recently conclude in Prayagraj.
In his address, Rajnath Singh said several Lucknow-based projects had been completed in record time. He thanked Gadkari and UP government for supporting the Centre in speeding up development schemes in the state.
Showering praises on Gadkari, the Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation, Rajnath Singh said, “Nitin Gadkari is a person who can extract oil from water and get work done without funds.” Singh’s statement drew loud applause from the audience.
Rajnath Singh urged Gadkari to introduce seaplane in Gomti Nagar and a flying bus as well, to which Gadkari gave his nod.
“Atalji had once said that he does not want to compare Lucknow with any city in the world. He wanted Lucknow to become an incredible (atulya) city, a khushaal (prosperous) city and a bemisaal (unparallel) city. Today, Atalji is not among us, but I want to make his soul believe that the people of Lucknow will fulfil your dreams, Atalji. This will be appropriate tributes to you from our side,” Singh said.
Yogi Adityanath said that development projects and Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj had given a new identity to the state.
“We have created a record of sorts as over 24 crore people attended the mega religious event in Prayagraj and there were no complaints,” he said.
UP’s Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma also addressed the gathering on the occasion. Maurya said that PWD was laying link roads worth Rs 22,000 crore for connecting all the villages of the state.
Sharma said better coordination between the Centre and the state had given impetus to development in the state.
Projects that were dedicated included four-laning of Lucknow-Sultanpur section on NH-56, four-laning of Kursi Road–Ayodhya road section of Lucknow ring road, four-laning of Ghaghra Bridge to Budhanpur section on NH-233, widening of Sonoli-Gorakhpur, Barabanki-Jarwal road junction, Rudauli-Basti , Pilibhit-Puranpur, Puranpur-Khutar section of roads and reconstruction and upgradation of Sisiya-Nanpara section on NH-730.
Projects whose foundation stones was laid included Lucknow-Kanpur expressway, flyover at IIM crossing, Ghazipur-Phephna-Majhighat road, four lane Mathura-Hathras-Badaun road among others.
The ministers laid foundation stones of several projects under Namami Gange programme, including of 214.88-km sewerage network in Prayagraj, sewerage networks in Garh Mukteshwar, Kannauj and 21.03-km sewerage network and 4 MLD sewage treatment plant (STP) in Bulandshahr. In all these projects, sewage will be collected from households and lifted to STPs directly.
Foundation stones were laid for many projects for river Ganga, Yamuna, Gomti, Ramganga and Kali.
For Gomti river, 30 MLD STPs have been proposed in Jaunpur, 7 MLD STP in Sultanpur and 40 MLD STP as well as rehabilitation of 42 MLD STP in Lucknow with total STP capacity of 87 MLD.. The project cost is Rs 568.93 crore.
Apart from these 63 MLD STP in Bareli along river Ramganga and 15 MLD STP in Kasganj along river Kali have been proposed .