100 new townships in 5 yrs: CM

Lucknow: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday said to advance Uttar Pradesh towards planned urban development in the next 5 years, the state govt has a target to develop 100 new townships.During his speech in the Assembly spanning 2 hours and 51 minutes, he said proposals of 114 townships were approved recently in a bid to expand the state's modern and well-organised urban infrastructure.
The CM also presented the govt's action plan for industrial development and youth empowerment. Placing a special emphasis on the expansion of transportation infrastructure, he said a provision of Rs 1,268 crore was made for the Charbagh to Vasant Kunj phase of the Lucknow Metro. Additionally, the CM announced the inauguration of the Namo Bharat Train (Rapid Rail) between Meerut and Delhi that would make travel between the two cities possible in 40 to 45 minutes. "Two corridors are being developed in Meerut-- one for the Namo Bharat Train and the other for Metro operations. This would provide a new dimension to regional connectivity," he said. Yogi also highlighted that about 1.56 billion tourists visited UP in 2025, a testament to the state's changing image and robust infrastructure. He said this was possible due to the govt's special attention to the overall development of religious, cultural and heritage sites. He said places of worship like Kashi Vishwanath Dham, Ayodhya Dham, Vindhya Corridor, Chitrakoot and Naimisharanya were developed extensively.Yogi added that in keeping with respect for great personalities, Rs 500 crore was provided to the social welfare department for development of statues and parks dedicated to Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, Sant Ravidas and Maharishi Valmiki.