Maintaining focus on improving Uttar Pradesh’s infrastructure, the Yogi Adityanath government has given a big push to the sector in the 2021-22 budget presented in Vidhan Sabha earlier today.
Here are the key highlights on the infrastructure-related announcements in Finance Minister Suresh Kumar Khanna’s budget speech:
1) For the three under-construction expressways in the state, the UP government has allocated more than Rs 3,450 crore — Rs 1,492 crore for the 296-km long Bundelkhand Expressway, Rs 1,107 crore for the 340-km long Purvanchal Expressway and Rs 870 crore for the 91-km long Gorakhpur Link Expressway.
The government plans to open the Purvanchal Expressway for traffic in April this year, following inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
2) For the proposed 594-km long Ganga Expressway, land acquisition for which has already begun, the government has allocated Rs 7,200 crore. The expressway will pas through 12 districts — Meerut, Hapur, Bulandshahar, Amroha, Sambhal, Badaun, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Unnao, Rai Bareli, Pratapgarh, and Prayagraj.
3) To improve air connectivity and boost tourism, the government has allocated over Rs 2,100 crore for airports in the state. Rs 2,000 crore has been allocated for the international airport in Jewar, and for the development and expansion of two smaller airports in Chitrakoot and Sonbhadra districts of the state.
4) Ayodhya, which the Yogi Adityanath government wants to develop as a major tourist attraction, has received much attention like last year. Anticipating that the inflow of tourists will grow when the construction of the Ram Mandir in the town is complete, the government has allocated Rs 140 crore for its overall development and Rs 101 crore for the expansion of the airport in Ayodhya.
5) Other major allocations for infrastructure projects include Rs 10,029 crore for housing, Rs 2,200 crore for AMRUT Yojana, Rs 2,000 crore for Smart City project, Rs 1,000 crore for Mukhya Mantri Samagra Sampada Vikas Yojana, Rs 7,000 crore for PM Awas Gramin and Rs 5,000 crore for PM Sadak Yojana.
6) An allocation of Rs 15,000 crore has been made for Har Ghar Jal scheme.