U.P. to focus on Agra, Lucknow Expressway

November 20, 2014 01:07 am | Updated 01:07 am IST - LUCKNOW:

Underscoring the development agenda of the Samajwadi Party Government, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday reiterated that renewed emphasis would be given to infrastructure development and uplift of villages. In the context of infrastructure development, Mr. Yadav stated that efforts would be made to complete the 302-km-long Agra-Lucknow Greenfield Expressway in time. “The Government will try to complete the Expressway project before the next elections (2017 Assembly polls),” the Chief Minister said.

In his reply to the debate on the Supplementary Budget for 2014-2015 in the Vidhan Sabha, Mr. Yadav declared that if the Agra Ring Road is taken into consideration the Agra-Lucknow Expressway is the biggest expressway project in the country. (The foundation stone of the Expressway project is likely be laid by the Chief Minister on November 23).

The Supplementary Budget was passed by voice vote.

Mr. Yadav rejected the Leader of Opposition, Swami Prasad Maurya’s charge and said the proposed Expressway was different from the Yamuna Expressway in the sense that there have been no farmers’ agitation. “When the Yamuna Expressway was being built land packages were given and false cases were filed against the farmers and by the time it was completed, three Governments were in office,” Mr. Yadav said.

Stating that the Supplementary Budget has been brought to give fillip to the development schemes, Mr. Yadav said added focus would be given to the medical and health sector, information technology and religious tourism.

He said the Samajwadi Pension Scheme is the biggest programme of its kind in the country, adding that its scope would be enlarged to include more beneficiaries from the present women beneficiaries from 40 lakh poor families.

Initiating the debate, the Leader of Opposition Swami Prasad Maurya said the Supplementary Budget was meant to deceive and dubbed it as a wasteful expenditure. Mr. Maurya said the Government was non-serious towards development.

Earlier, during Question Hour, the Chief Minister, while intervening in a query related to power shortage in the State by Bharatiya Janata Party members, reiterated that Uttar Pradesh has not been given its full quota of coal by the Centre. He said the details of the allocation of coal and power have been sent to the Centre.

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