Yogi: Bulldozers will act against anyone encroaching on govt land

Lucknow: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Wednesday that bulldozers will act if anyone, no matter how influential, illegally encroaches on monuments, mythological sites, or government land. Addressing the state Assembly during a discussion on the supplementary budget, the CM said creating a secure environment for every citizen is the foremost priority of his government and the state's progress in terms of infrastructure and employment was primarily driven by the safe and secure environment which his govt ensured in the last eight and a half years. "Whoever encroaches on any monument or mythological site, I will not spare them. If any mafia illegally occupies government land and turns it into a den of extortion or immoral activities, bulldozers will roll and no one can stop it," he said during the discussion after which the Rs 24,496.98 crore budget was passed.
"We have ensured a safe and secure environment. The people have already given their mandate and would continue to do so in our favour in the future," he said, adding that the state was ensuring ease of doing business and trust in doing business. Adityanath said that UP was a state which gave security to people while cautioning criminals of getting eliminated. "Ab UP har gundey ko chaitavni deta hai ki sudhar jao warna yamraj ke wahan jane ke raste khule hue hain…," he said. The CM said that the supplementary budget was needed to meet the demand of new heads, including those under expressway, power, health, technical education, and women empowerment. The overall state budget will now be of the size of Rs 8,33,233 crore for 2025-26. He said that the state has shown a balance of financial discipline and development to become a welfare state. "And that the state govt achieved without imposing any additional tax on the people," he said, highlighting how the state govt plugged financial leakages and arrested tax pilferage. Yogi said that the perception about UP before 2017 was "not good". "Today that has changed and people are appreciating the security provided in the state. Riots are not happening anymore. There is an end to anarchy," he said. The CM cited the example of SP MLA Pooja Pal, the wife of slain Allahabad West MLA Raju Pal, who was allegedly gunned down by henchmen of gangster Atiq Ahmad in 2005. "SP could not give justice to a poor woman. You speak of PDA. Wasn't she part of PDA?" the CM said, asserting that it was his govt which eventually gave justice to Pal, irrespective of her political affiliation. He said that for uniformed forces like police, good training is crucial. "The more sweat shed during training, the less blood will be shed during service. You reduced the training period from nine months to six months. We are working to make the recruitment process transparent," he said. He said that the appointment of retired IPS and former DGP Prashant Kumar in Uttar Pradesh Education Service Selection Commission (UPESSC) was strategically done to check the cheating mafia. "Sajjan ko suraksha aur durjan ko thikane lagane ka kaam humara (sarkar) ka hone chahiye," he said, adding that he was not on the seat to "recite Bhajans".'SP Govt's Corruption'About corruption in projects launched during the SP's rule, he said the JPN International Centre (JPNIC) was a Rs 175-crore project, while an amount of Rs 860 crore was spent on it and it was still incomplete. Similarly, the Gomti Riverfront was a Rs 167-crore project and an amount of Rs 1,400 crore was spent on it but it remained unfinished, he said. On the Purvanchal Expressway, he said, "By god's grace, your government had already fallen. You had planned 340 km at Rs 15,200 crore only for civil work. We redesigned it -- 341-km long, 120-metre wide -- and completed it in Rs 11,800 crore." "This was not governance. This was a joke on the nation and its people. Corruption thrived because intentions were never clean," the CM alleged. 'Spruced Up Infra'Speaking on infrastructure, Yogi said that the callous approach of the previous SP govt was very much evident. He said before 2017, the state had only one-and-a-half expressways. "Today that number has grown to 22. Put together, they form around 60% of the total expressways constructed in the country," he said. Likewise, the state is now home to the maximum number of metro rails and airports, he said, stressing that all such developments depended on the political will of the govt.Slamming the SP leadership for making tall claims, Yogi said that their attitude exhibited "arrogance". "This is why people do not respect you," he said.'9 Lakh Govt Jobs'He said the state govt ensured employment of around 9 lakh people in the govt sector in a fair and transparent manner in the last nine years. Likewise, the state govt was focused on the MSME sector to boost employment."We are facilitating the local products. UP has the country's largest MSME network in the country (the state has 96 lakh MSME units employing nearly 2 crore people)," he said. The CM quoted a report of the Centre for Monitoring of Indian Economy saying that the unemployment rate shrank from 19% before 2017 to 2.21% at present.He said that it was because of security that the state is getting investments. "This was not the case earlier when investors shied away from the state," he said, adding that the state govt has received investment proposals worth approximately Rs 45 lakh crore in the last few years. Of this, he said, Rs 15 lakh crore have already been implemented, resulting in the employment of 7 lakh youth.'Revenue Surplus State'Yogi said that his govt did not discriminate between people while wheeling out welfare. "Chehra dekh ke labh dena humare liye paap hai," he said. The CM said that the funds meant for development will be given to all 403 assembly seats without any discrimination.He said that his govt was result-oriented. Yogi charged the previous govt with turning the state into a BIMARU state because of a "policy paralysis". "That is not the case anymore. Today we have 33 sectoral policies. The state is now a revenue surplus state," he said.He said that UP's share in national GDP was to the tune of 14% at the time of independence. "This got reduced to less than 8%," he said, underscoring that his govt has led the state to improve its position and account for around 9.5% of the national GDP. Likewise, the per capita income has grown from Rs 43,000 to around Rs 1.20 lakh per annum. Even the credit-deposit ratio has grown from a little over 40% to around 65%.'Farmer-Friendly'Yogi said that farmer welfare was one of the key priorities of the state govt. He highlighted that his govt was channelling uninterrupted power supply besides ensuring timely compensation for their produce.Citing the case of cane growers, Yogi said that the state govt has paid over Rs 2 lakh crore to the cane farmers. The CM said that the agriculture growth rate has grown from 8% to 18% over the last eight years. The CM attacked the SP for executing developmental projects maliciously. He categorically cited the example of Jai Prakash Narayan International Centre (JPNIC), which, he said, saw its cost rising from just around Rs 200 crore to over Rs 800 crore and "still remaining incomplete". Likewise, the Gomti riverfront saw its cost going up from Rs 166 crore to over Rs 1,400 crore and remaining "incomplete".He said that not only riots and sectarian violence, but caste and regional disparities were rampant during the previous SP regime. "Mafiaraj, jungle raj, goonda tax and extortion were given patronage by the then ruling party," he charged.

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