Uttar Pradesh govt set to launch 'New Ayodhya' project in the next 2 months

To transform the temple town of Ayodhya into a modern religious tourism hotspot, the Uttar Pradesh government is set to launch a mega 1,400 acres ‘New Ayodhya’ project in the next two months, a senior official said.

The UP Housing Board will acquire swathes of land in Ayodhya district in two phases. The process of coordinating with the state realty regulator, UP Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), for the necessary approvals has already begun.

“There is an urgent need to develop new urban centres with the help of private investment,” said UP Housing and Urban Planning Principal Secretary Nitin Ramesh Gokarn.

He said the government would create a partnership mechanism for a sustainable development model. The ‘New Ayodhya’ township will comprise houses, guest houses, hotels, warehouses, religious, and cultural centres apart from plots for commercial activities.

Since the Ayodhya international airport project is fast nearing completion and the under-construction Lord Ram temple is expected to be ready by September, the Yogi Adityanath government is also expediting the infra and development projects in the temple town.

Recently, the Yogi Cabinet had cleared a slew of infra and development projects worth Rs 465 crore for Ayodhya. The temple town is likely to witness a major jump in tourist inflow once flagship projects are commissioned. In the first six months of 2022, more than 20 million tourists visited Ayodhya.

The modern transformation of Ayodhya is estimated to cost Rs 30,000 crore to the exchequer under ‘Ayodhya Vision 2047’ theme. The funds would be invested jointly by the state and central governments in nearly 260 projects relating to tourism, aviation, infrastructure, housing, medical, energy, culture, urban development, transport, etc.

However, the sum of Rs 30,000 crore does not include the cost of construction of Lord Ram temple, since the temple project has been undertaken by a private trust namely ‘Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra’ through donations. The temple project is estimated to cost Rs 1,800 crore to the Trust.

Meanwhile, UP is looking to develop 100 new townships to boost economic development and realise its target of becoming a $-trillion economy in the next 4-5 years.

The 100 new townships would be developed in the periphery of big cities to decongest urban centres and synergise development, economic activities, housing and job market. So far, the state has received 450 proposals from private developers in addition to the development planned by government agencies.