Adityanath completes 3 yrs as CM, flags UP's image as top achievement

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath on Wednesday listed changing the erstwhile negative perception and creating a positive image of the state, both nationally and internationally, as the biggest achievement of his rule.

Addressing the media to mark the completion of three years of his dispensation, Adityanath observed there were challenges galore on the law and order and development projects fronts when he came to power in March 2017.

“However, these challenges only inspired us to translate them into opportunities, which helped the state in achieving big and figuring at the top in several parameters and socioeconomic matrices,” he added.

The CM claimed there had been no communal riots in UP over the past three years, while his regime had protected the democratic values. “We have been successful in instilling trust, ushering in development and providing good governance under our rule,” he said.

Referring to the flagship projects of Purvanchal Expressway and Bundelkhand Expressway, he said the two projects would be opened to public by the end of this year and the next year, respectively, while the work on the Ganga Expressway was also slated to start soon.

“These infrastructure projects are propelling our economy to newer heights,” Adityanath said, adding the metro rail projects in four cities would soon expand to Kanpur and Agra, even as similar strides in other cities were also in the pipeline.

The CM said the state’s One District, One Product (ODOP) scheme to boost the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector and promote indigenous industries had earned encomiums by the Centre, which had even advised other states to follow suit.

Meanwhile, he thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president J P Nadda and the party’s parliamentary board for their unflinching support to the UP government.

Adityanath said the flagship crop loan waiver scheme totalling Rs 36,000 crore and payment of more than Rs 12,000 crore to UP’s farmers under the PM Kisan scheme had laid a solid foundation for farm sector prosperity.

“Today, the law and order in UP is much better, which is reflecting in the significant drop in the criminal cases, including dacoity, loot, murder, road holdups, rapes etc. We are focussing on the police modernisation and providing cops with better working and housing facilities,” he claimed.

The state is setting up a forensic lab and cyber police stations in each of the 18 police ranges of the state for better policing, he said. “Due to the incremental improvement in the state’s image, the investment has been growing and more job and self employment opportunities are being created,” he said.

He claimed job opportunities totalling about 3.3 million had been created in UP over the past three years, while the state had taken a quantum leap of 28 per cent in exports growth last year owing to the success of ODOP.

Meanwhile, he also recalled the purported successes in other sectors too, including health, power, education, urban development, housing, sanitation, tourism, rural development etc.

“After coming to power, we ensured total sugarcane payment of Rs 92,500 crore to farmers, while earlier regimes had either sold or closed down 29 sugar mills,” he said adding the state was now the country’s top sugarcane, sugar and ethanol producer.

Adityanath said the state was working closely with the Centre to contain the spread of coronavirus.