The Uttar Pradesh cabinet on Tuesday approved a slew of expressway and infrastructure development projects, including the extension of the six-lane, expandable to eight-lane, greenfield Ganga Expressway from Meerut to Haridwar in Uttarakhand at a cost of ₹ 10,761 crore and development of the Jhansi Link Expressway at a cost of ₹ 7,968.30 crore.
The cabinet, chaired by chief minister Yogi Adityanath, also approved the proposal to connect the two Kumbh cities, Prayagraj and Haridwar, with an access-controlled expressway. The 147-km expressway will have a 30-km stretch in Uttarakhand and a speed limit of 120 kmph..
Briefing media persons, finance minister Suresh Khanna said the detailed project report for the extension of the Ganga Expressway would be prepared following the cabinet’s approval.
Khanna said the nearly 103-km Jhansi Link Expressway would connect Jhansi with the Bundelkhand Expressway at Jalaun. IT policy norms relaxed The cabinet also approved a proposal to amend the Uttar Pradesh Information Technology and Information Technology-enabled Services Policy 2022 to relax norms and attract investment, as the prevailing norms were not attracting much investment. The state cabinet approved Letters of Comfort for three companies proposing investments of ₹ 2,606.04 crore under the 2023 Investment Promotion Policy. Agristo Masa will invest ₹ 794.27 crore in Bijnor, Canpac India ₹ 1,573.62 crore in Unnao and Supreme Industries ₹ 238.15 crore in Kanpur Dehat. It also cleared Letters of Comfort for six other mega projects involving ₹ 2,837.97 crore.
Khanna said the Uttar Pradesh government would bear the cost of the stretch falling in Uttarakhand and would be entitled to collect the toll tax for the same. He said the expressway would provide high-speed connectivity to BIDA, the Defence Corridor and important places near Jhansi.
