Lucknow: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated or laid foundation stones of 2029 development projects worth ₹8731 crore in Lucknow on Thursday and took a jibe at Pakistan.
“The projects we have launched today are worth the annual budget of some states. While we are spending money on development, countries like Pakistan are struggling for food,” he said.
“We plan to connect all the 17 municipal corporations under the Smart City Mission and the process is underway. UP is currently leading the nation in the implementation of the Smart City Mission,” he added.
Yogi Adityanath said that over 200 municipalities and nagar panchayats were formed in the past 6 years and added that Agra metro would be operational by year-end.
“We will soon introduce electric vehicles in many UP districts like Sitapur, Unnao, Barabanki and Rae Bareli. Metro is operational in five UP cities of the state, maximum in any state across the country, and we have set a target of making Agra metro operational by the year-end while in Kashi, work on the ropeway facility is going on rapidly,” he said.
The CM said that 240 municipal bodies were expanded under the Mukhyamantri Nagar Srijan Yojana. “During previous governments, there used to be development only when elections were held. Our government ensured all-round development sans discrimination,” he said.
Yogi informed that 60 cities in UP had been approved under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme. “In near future, 100 such nagar panchayats will be selected to be developed as aspirational cities,” he added.
“There are 762 municipal bodies in the state with a population of about seven crore and during civic polls, around 4.32 crore voters will be voting in the near future,” he said while reminding the people of the work done under his government.
The CM also launched numerous books, including those related to the state’s urban digital mission, progress of Swachch Bharat Mission, govansh (cow) protection and a manual to protect dogs among others. He also flagged off tempo tripper vehicles and handed over keys of houses to beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (urban).
He congratulated people on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti and 43rd Foundation Day of the BJP. “The largest political party in the world, the BJP, was founded today. Although we do not mention the name of the political party in government events, the BJP has done the work of reaching different sections of society without discrimination under the leadership of PM Modi,” he added.
“Before Covid, a pandemic had arrived about 100 years ago in which people died not only of illness, but also of starvation. However, during Covid, free vaccinations, tests, rations and facilities were made available to the people for the first time in the history of the country, thanks to PM Modi’s leadership,” he said.
Yogi also took a veiled swipe at the opposition. “The efforts made by the BJP under Prime Minister Modi to benefit the masses would serve well to open the eyes of all those who divided independent India on the basis of caste, region, and language and made false promises.”
STATE LEVEL BOARD FOR SANITATION WORKERS
CM Yogi showered praise on sanitation workers who he said must get all respect.
“The government has set up a committee under the supervision of the chief secretary to ensure provision of a good honorarium to sanitation workers. We will also set up a state level board if required, for the betterment of these workers who must get the respect they deserve. In particular, the government will ensure the arrangement for the security of workers who work in sewers along with the provision of additional honorarium for them,” he added.