Gomti project: Only 60% work from 90% funds, probe ordered

Noting that only 60 per cent work on Gomti river front project was complete while 90 per cent of the funds were exhausted, Uttar Pradesh government today ordered a high-level probe into the former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav's dream initiative.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who had inspected the project in the state capital on March 27, held a review meeting here and called for the probe to be headed by a retired High Court judge, a government official said.
He asked the chief secretary to constitute a team for inquiry into the project and submit its report within 45 days, the official said, adding the urban development minister Suresh Khanna and irrigation minister Dharampal Singh have been told to continuously monitor the works of the project.

Expressing dissatisfaction that almost 90 per cent of the Rs 1513-crore budget, which is Rs 1435 crore, have been spent but works on the project are only 60 per cent complete, the Chief Minister asked the probe team to look into the reasons behind delay and expenditure on the project.
He also called for reviewing the necessity of the remaining works and asked for doing away with unimportant works and completion of the project at the earliest.
The officials informed the Chief Minister that the revised estimate of the project has now come to Rs 2448 crore.

The Chief Minister said that before opening the project for public the biggest problem of pollution of the river should have been addressed and asked the officials to divert the drains falling in the river and setting up STP.

"Till the pollution is not addressed, there is no relevance of beautification of the banks," the Chief Minister stressed and asked for proper disposal of the discharge from factories in Lakhimpur and Pilibhit which fall in the river.
During his inspection, the Chief Minister had expressed dissatisfaction over the progress and utility of the project on the banks of the river which was carried out by the irrigation department of the state headed by cabinet minister Akhilesh's uncle Shivpal Singh Yadav.
The Chief Minister also asked the officials to link this project with the 'Namami Gange' project and initiate work for plugging drains falling in the river so that it could be clean and water flow maintained.