Heaping praise on the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh for robust infrastructural development and for creating a conducive environment for industrial activities in the state, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman attributed the development of UP to the visionary duo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and said "come to UP and see how the infrastructure development is done".
“All praise for the overall development of the state,” she exclaimed "UP has done it."
Sitharaman said the Yogi government had introduced a new UP to the world by bringing infrastructure projects like Purvanchal Expressway, Bundelkhand Expressway, Gorakhpur and Ballia Link Expressway and Ganga Expressway in the last four-five years.
Being profuse in her appreciation for the UP government, the Union minister said that the mantra of 'Vocal for Local' was clearly reflected in the One District One Product (ODOP) scheme in UP. Referring to the UP Defence Industrial Corridor, she said that UP, which was generally known for agriculture and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), had not only shown interest for such a big and important project but was executing it successfully.
Appreciating the Yogi government for giving a meaningful direction to the government policies, the Union finance minister said that the promptness and success with which the schemes of the Central government had been implemented in UP was an example for others.
Sitharaman was here to attend a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The meeting was important in terms of raising financial resources for the construction of Ganga Expressway. Managing Director-cum-CEO of Punjab National Bank, SS Mallikarjuna Rao, transferred a sanction letter of securitisation-based loan of Rs. 5100.00 crore by PNB for Ganga Expressway to UP Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA).
Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that Uttar Pradesh had not only been the centre of cultural and spiritual heritage of India but was also becoming the "growth engine" of the country's economic development.
Recalling the statement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the foundation stone laying ceremony of Purvanchal Expressway, Yogi said that infrastructure was the backbone of the economy.
“Expressway is not just a road but industrial clusters will also be developed on both sides. The 594-km long Ganga Expressway, to be built at a cost of Rs 36,230 crore, will traverse through 11 districts from Meerut to Prayagraj and is going to be the backbone of Uttar Pradesh's economy," the chief minister said.
The chief minister said that the Union finance minister, in her Union Budget 2021-22 speech, had emphasised on the development of necessary infrastructure for coordinated development in different parts of the country by defining the concept of ‘National Infrastructure Pipeline’ and ‘National Monetisation Pipeline’. He said in order to take this concept further, the UP government had arranged for securitisation based loans from banks as a part of mobilisation of financial resources for Ganga Expressway and pointed out that this step was the first innovative attempt to monetise public infrastructure assets not only in the state but in the whole of North India .
He also expressed his gratitude to Nirmala Sitharaman for gifting the Defence industrial Corridor to UP as defence minister and for making accessible the mythological Akshayavat to the devotees at Prayagraj Kumbh.
He said the length of Ganga Expressway was 594 km and it would be the longest expressway in North India and the second longest in the country. He said about 92 per cent of the land required for this expressway had been purchased and about Rs 36,230 crore would be spent on its construction.
UP Finance Minister Suresh Khanna, in his address, said that Uttar Pradesh had many new dimensions in the field of industrial development under the dynamic leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. He said that the network of expressways would give the state a smooth connectivity to the national markets.
It is noteworthy that despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the construction of Purvanchal Expressway is almost complete while Bundelkhand Expressway is progressing fast.