Complete Ganga Expressway by December, 2024: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to officials

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], June 18 : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday reviewed the progress of under-construction and new expressway projects and the development of the Industrial Corridor and Defense Corridor in the state and necessary guidelines to officials in a high-level meeting held on Sunday, an official statement informed.
According to the statement, CM Adityanath instructed officials to complete Ganga Expressway by December 2024, adding that an industrial cluster will be developed along the Ganga Expressway. The CM directed the officials to decide on the location.
"Under the guidance of Prime Minister Modi, in the last five and a half years, unprecedented work has been done in the field of road infrastructure in Uttar Pradesh. Till 2017, there were only 2 expressways in this state, today there are 6 expressways. National Highways have also almost doubled as compared to 5 years back. There has been an expected improvement in border area connectivity. Better connectivity is the most important medium to accelerate development," the release quoted CM Adityanath as saying.
The CM informed that in new India, new Uttar Pradesh is getting a new identity as 'Express Pradesh'. "Purvanchal and Bundelkhand Expressways have already been dedicated to the nation whereas Ganga Expressway and Gorakhpur Link Expressway are currently being constructed," he said.
The CM Yogi further said it is necessary to connect the Bundelkhand Expressway, which has become the lifeline of Bundelkhand, with Jhansi and Chitrakoot. "The budget has also been provisioned for Chitrakoot Link Expressway and Jhansi Link Expressway. Both these new expressways will accelerate the progress of Bundelkhand," the statement added.
According to the preliminary study, the Chitrakoot Link Expressway will be around 20 km long, while the length of the Jhansi Link Expressway will be around 125-135 km.
"For the construction of both the new expressways, the process of purchasing the land should be started as soon as possible after preparing a detailed report after duly studying it. Quality of work and timeliness of the project should be ensured," the CM said.
He added that saplings should be planted on both sides of all expressways on the occasion of Van Mahotsav this year, adding that the availability of plants will be made by the Forest Department.
"The process of development of industrial clusters should be expedited on both sides of Purvanchal and Bundelkhand Expressways. It may be ensured that the IMLC location is within a distance of a maximum of 3 km from the interchange. The land for the cluster should be identified and acquired immediately as per the rules. There will be no shortage of funds for this," the CM said.
He said that the land required for Ganga Expressway connecting Meerut to Prayagraj has been acquired.
"The target should be to make this expressway available to the general public by December 2024, so that devotees from all over the country and the world can take advantage during Prayagraj Kumbh in 2025. A place should be identified for developing an industrial cluster along the Ganga Expressway," he added.
The CM said the progress of the construction of the Gorakhpur Link Expressway is satisfactory, adding that it will become a medium of excellent connectivity for Gorakhpur, Sant Kabir Nagar, Azamgarh and Ambedkar Nagar districts. "The construction of the Gorakhpur Link Expressway should be completed in a time-bound manner," he said.
He informed that big defence product manufacturing companies of the country and the world are investing in Uttar Pradesh Defense Industrial, which is playing a leading role in making the country a hub of defence production.
"So far, more than Rs 21, 000 crores have been invested in the Defense Corridor. Big companies are setting up their units in the corridor, including Bramhos Aerospace, Aeroloy Technology in the Lucknow node, Bharat Dynamics Limited in the Jhansi node, Adani Defense System in the Kanpur node, and Emitech Electronics and Anchor Research Limited in the Aligarh node," he said.
"Take immediate decisions regarding new proposals. Do not keep any proposal pending," Yogi instructed officials," the statement said.