UP govt approves ambitious Ganga Expressway project worth Rs 36,402 cr

The Uttar Pradesh government has approved an ambitious 594-km Ganga Expressway project worth Rs 36,402 crore running along the river from Hardwar to Allahabad.

The decision to build the expressway between the two cities on the riverbank while running through Meerut, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Amroha, Sambhal, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Unnao and Rae Bareli was taken in a UP Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

The Cabinet also approved a district-wise alignment of the Expressway, an official release said on Wednesday.

The government also decided to monetise the Agra-Lucknow Expressway for funding the ambitious Ganga Expressway project and decided to set up a high-power committee to take procedural and operational decisions to monetise the Agra-Lucknow Expressway.

For the implementation of the road project along the Ganga, it was decided that funds will be withdrawn from the treasury after the money raised from the monetisation of the Agra-Lucknow Expressway has been deposited.

The Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority too was asked to complete the preparatory operations for the project in time and approval was given to it to explore the option of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for it, the release added.

Additionally, the SBI Capital Market Limited too was nominated as the financial advisor for the project, it said.

In its meeting, the Cabinet also took a slew of decisions for the expeditious execution of the project. The decisions included the approval to the proposal to provide the Gram Sabha land free of cost, purchasing and acquiring land, fixing the annual budget for the project and to take a loan from the Housing and Urban Development Corporation Limited (HUDCO) for it.

In its statement, the government also said besides providing a smooth and fast traffic movement from Hardwar to Allahabad, almost parallel to the river Ganga, the expressway will also be helpful in the social and economic development of UP.

Additionally, the traffic coming through the waterway being built from Haldia to Varanasi will also be able to travel easily to Delhi and other states via Allahabad, the release pointed out.