Uttar Pradesh, the fourth largest state by area and the largest state by population in the country, is finally witnessing large-scale transformation under the Yogi Adityanath government after seeing decades of misery and suffering under the previous Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party regimes. The Hindi belt state, with huge untapped potential, endured years of Mafia Raj, poor law and order and lack of social and economic development.
The socio-economic indicators of Uttar Pradesh were so poor that the state was once a part of the acronym BIMARU, a term coined by demographer Ashish Bose, to refer to the state of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. The Hindi word for BIMARU is sickly. The BIMARU states lagged behind in most socio-economic indicators, including economic growth and infrastructural development.
In addition to this, the people of Uttar Pradesh were agonised by the Mafia Raj which thrived under the patronage of the previous state governments. The state witnessed an era under the SP and the BSP governments when mafias and gangsters enjoyed power and protection of the state. Instead of facing the law, these gangsters were given tickets by these parties to contest elections. These gangsters were so dreaded that even judges refused to hear cases against them.
However, after the BJP came to power in 2017, Uttar Pradesh saw a sea change, which seemed far from possible until now. CM Yogi made law and order his administration’s top priority and adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards crime and criminals. This resulted an 85% decline in heinous crimes and the dismantling of deeply entrenched mafia network in the state. Reduction in crimes also created a conducive environment for the growth of businesses. The 8 years’ tenure of the Yogi government has marked a transformative shift in Uttar Pradesh by converting a BIMARU state into one of the fastest growing states in the country. Here is a look at the completed and ongoing infrastructure projects in the state under Yogi government-
Expressways
While six expressways have already been made operational, the construction work of six other expressways is underway. The operational expressways are-
- Yamuna Expressway – This 165.5 km long expressway connects Delhi to Agra and is also known as Taj Expressway. It was built in three phases with a total cost of Rs 13,330 crores
- Noida-Greater Noida Expressway – This is an extension of the Taj Expressway and runs from Southeast section of Okhla Bird Sanctuary to Noida Sector 168. It is 24.53 km long and was built at a cost of Rs 400 crore.
- Agra-Lucknow Expressway – It is a greenfield expressway linking Agra to Lucknow. It is 302 km long and was constructed at a cost of Rs 15,000 crore.
- Delhi-Meerut Expressway – It is a mix of brownfield and greenfield projects and is 96 km long. It was built at a cost of Rs 7, 855.87 crore.
- Purvanchal Expressway – The 340.82 km long expressway runs through nine major districts of Ghazipur, Mau, Azamgarh, Ambedkar Nagar, Ayodhya, Sultanpur, Amethi, Barabanki, and Lucknow.
- Bundelkhand Expressway – This is one of the fastest built expressways completed within 28 months. It is 296.07 km long and was built at a total cost of Rs 7766.81 crore.
- The state government is working on 6 new expressways, including Gorakhpur Link Expressway (91 km), Ganga Expressway (594 km), Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway (63 km), Ghaziabad-Kanpur Expressway (380 km), Gorakhpur-Siliguri Expressway (519 km), Delhi-Saharanpur-Dehradun Expressway (210 km) and Ghazipur Ballia Manjhighat Expressway (117 km).
Airports
- In order to increase and improve air connectivity, the Yogi government is working on ambitious plan of constructing 18 airports across Uttar Pradesh, including 5 international airports. At present, there are 10 functional airports in the state, including the recently inaugurated Maharishi Valmiki International Airport in Ayodhya. An international airport at Jewar, Gautam Budhh Nagar is set to be inaugurated soon.
The state government plans to develop five airports in Aligarh, Azamgarh, Chitrakoot, Pyorpur (Sonbhadra) and Shravasti under the Regional Connectivity scheme in order to develop them in line with the specifications for Airbus A-321. With improved air connectivity, the movement of passengers as well as cargo will become smoother adding to economic growth.
Metro Rail
- Uttar Pradesh has the greatest number of cities with metro rail connectivity. The metro rail in the state is currently operational in the cities of Lucknow, Kanpur, Ghaziabad, Noida, and Greater Noida. The Uttar Pradesh Metro rail corporation is currently expanding the metro rail network to Agra and Meerut. The government is also considering plans for taking metro rail connectivity to Varanasi, Prayagraj, Gorakhpur and Bareilly.
The construction of the Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) route is also nearing its completion. 11 stations covering a 55-kilometre stretch are already operational and the work on remaining 27-kilometre portion is progressing rapidly. To enhance connectivity, a 72.26 km-long Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) will link Jewar Airport with Ghaziabad, Greater Noida, and Yamuna Authority. The Detailed Project Report (DPR) for this Rs 20,637 crore project has been submitted to the Government of India.
The 82-kilometre-long corridor, known as the Namo Bharat corridor, is being implemented by the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) as a high-speed regional connectivity project.
Film City and other projects
- Major projects like the Film City, Medical Device Park, Logistics Park, Fintech City, IT City and Data Centre Park are also in the pipeline. The proposed Film City in Noida is going to be the biggest film city in the country. It will provide unprecedented work opportunities to local as well artists from across the country. It is being established at a cost of Rs 10,000 crore in about 1000 acres. The Film City is also expected to be a centre of tourism. The Film Institute inside the upcoming Film City will make use of advanced technologies like animation, OTT and gaming at par with international standards will prepare students to seek work opportunities globally. A data centre will also be constructed in the Film City for preproduction and post production of films.
Medical Infrastructure
- Creation and improvement of existing health infrastructure is also a top priority of Yogi government. Medical colleges are being run by the state government in 65 districts, including AIIMS in Gorakhpur and Raebareli. In addition to that, the government is constructing 22 medical colleges across the state. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the yogi government was praised by the World Health Organisation for its COVID-19 management strategy describing it as a “good example”. Uttar Pradesh has excelled among states, giving more than 38 crore vaccine doses. Apart from this, 6.51 crore people of the state have received Ayushman card to avail health insurance cover of up to Rs 5 lakh.
With the entire gamut of completed, ongoing and proposed infrastructural development projects across Uttar Pradesh, Yogi government is rapidly transforming a BIMARU state into a leader of socio-economic growth.
