When Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav lays the foundation stone of the ambitious expressway project between Agra and
Lucknow on November 21, he is likely also announce plans to develop four new “smart” townships along the six-lane freeway. These “smart cities”, a concept similar to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream project of having modern cities, would be spread around 1,500 hectares each having a mix of residential, commercial and industrial spaces.
The “smart cities” that would come up along the 302-km access-controlled expressway with private partnership would focus on providing online services and automation of various facilities.
The vision of the Chief Minister is to have new cities that would not only decongest populated cities that fall along the expressway between Lucknow and Agra, government sources said.
The Ganga Expressway Industrial Authority would be given the responsibility to develop these townships between Lucknow and Kanpur, between Kanpur and Kannauj, near Firozabad and Agra. Through the expressway, the aim is also to boost tourism in the State for which plans are also being made to develop special tourist circuits, they added.
While the Yamuna expressway is already operational between Noida and Agra, the new Greenfield six-lane road between Agra and Lucknow would
not only bring the State capital closure to Delhi but also give a major economic boost to the economy of western and central parts of the State. The Rs.15,000-crore expressway between Agra and Lucknow will pass through Firozabad, Mainpuri, Etawah, Kannauj, Auraiya, Kanpur Dehat , Unnao and Hardoi.
While major development has been planned along the expressway between Noida and Agra, Mr. Yadav wants to extend the expressway by another over 700 km beyond Lucknow to cover eastern parts of the State.
