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UP expressways authority set up

LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh Government on Wednesday decided to constitute the UP Expressways Industrial Development Authority to ensure proper implementation and development of the proposed Rs.30,000-crore Greater Noida-Ballia Expressway along the left bank of the Ganga in the State.

This decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mayawati.

The Authority, which will also oversee development of the link expressways which constituted an integral part of the mega road project, will be constituted under the Uttar Pradesh Industrial Area Development Act, 1976.

The functioning of the Authority will be monitored by a Board and a separate corpus will be established for meeting its expenditure.

To begin with, the corpus will have Rs.10 crore in the form of grant from Noida (New Okhla Industrial Development Authority), Greater Noida and UP State Industrial Development Authority.

The proposed body will be responsible for acquiring land for the expressway and will also finalise the bid document for the Ganga Expressway and the link expressways.

The Authority would be headed by a Chief Executive Officer, who will be a senior bureaucrat.

To be developed by private players, the 900-km-long Greater Noida-Ballia Expressway will consist of an eight-lane highway linking the eastern corner (Ballia) of the State with its western corner (Greater Noida).

The Cabinet also decided to re-name Hathras district as Mahamaya Nagar. Hathras had been christened Mahamaya Nagar by Ms. Mayawati in her second term as UP Chief Minister in 1997. When the BJP Government headed by Kalyan Singh came to power, the district reverted to its original name in 1998. However, when Ms. Mayawati returned as CM in 2002, Hathras again became Mahamaya Nagar.

In 2006, the Mulayam Singh regime dropped Mahamaya Nagar for Hathras.

It is for an unprecedented fifth time in the last decade that the pendulum has swung from Hathras to Mahamaya Nagar, back to Hathras and again Mahayamaya Nagar.

The district owes its name to Gautam Buddha’s mother Mahamaya.

Another decision pertained to the Cabinet nod for extension of the UP Diversified Agriculture Project (UPDASP).

The project was being implemented in 32 districts but following its success in increasing agriculture productivity, it was decided to extend the scheme to the 38 remaining districts. The project will now cover the entire State.

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