Centre Considered Highway Projects Worth Rs 60K Cr in UP Since 2018, Half of Them This Poll-Bound Year

CellBel

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posted on 2 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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Government data shows that the quantum of proposals and approvals have accelerated since 2020 and projects worth Rs 28,700 crore were submitted to the Centre just in the present financial year in the run-up to the Uttar Pradesh elections.

Not just the expressways, the Centre has considered highway projects worth over Rs 60,000 crore in Uttar Pradesh since 2018, with proposals worth nearly half that amount considered in just this poll-bound year.

All these projects amount to nearly 2,800-km of new highways in Uttar Pradesh, as per data furnished by the Road Transport and Highways Ministry in a written answer to Parliament on Thursday. The data shows that the quantum of proposals and approvals have accelerated since 2020 and projects worth Rs 28,700 crore were submitted to the Centre just in the present financial year (2021-22) in the run-up to the Uttar Pradesh elections.

Sample this: The Centre approved highway projects of 450 km in UP worth Rs 9,281 crore of the UP Public Works Department (PWD) and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) in 2018-19 after the Yogi Adityanath government came to power in the state. In 2019-20, the Centre approved another 750 km of highways in the state worth Rs 9,203 crore, and in 2020-21, these approvals rose to projects worth Rs 13,749 crore. All proposals sent by the PWD and the NHAI in these three years were approved by the Centre.

This financial year has seen a boom in proposals for highways in the state both from the NHAI and the PWD. The NHAI has submitted proposals for 502 km of highways worth Rs 20,926 crore while the PWD has submitted proposals for 543 km of roads worth Rs 7,787 crore — the total proposals amounting to nearly Rs 28,700 crore. The Centre has so far approved projects this year worth Rs 6,000 crore, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari told Parliament.

The Centre and Yogi Adityanath government have been stressing on “double-engine” government in Uttar Pradesh, saying development has pace in the state with same party in power at the Centre and in UP. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had impressed upon the same when he inaugurated the 342-km long Purvanchal Expressway in Uttar Pradesh last month, which was built by the UP Expressway and Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) from the state’s funds.

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