Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today laid foundation stones of three mega projects here, including an IT city and a super-speciality hospital, seeking to boost employment and medical infrastructure in the state capital.
Akhilsh hoped that the upcoming IT City, a IIIT and the Medanta-Avadh super-speciality hospital, would be completed before the next elections.
While the IT city and IIIT would be part of the upcoming city township being developed by the state government on the Sultanpur road, the 1000 bed super speciality hospital, Medanta Avadh would be a private hi-tech hospital in the area.
The state government had signed an MoU with the investment arm of the HCL in June this year for setting up a 100-acre IT city which according to estimates would create job opportunities for 25,000 jobless and indirect jobs for 50000 others.
The IIIT, second in the state, is to be set up under the joint aegis of the Central and the state governments and an industry partner.
"These projects which are going to come up here will also increase the importance of Lucknow as well as Uttar Pradesh besides creating more job opportunities", Yadav said at the foundation laying ceremony in Chak Gajaria area of the state capital.
Stressing that his government had been taking "big and small decisions" for the development of the state, Yadav recalled that his father and former chief minister Mulayam Singh Yadav had started the 'Hi-tech City' and now people are talking about 'Smart Cities'. He said that he did not know the difference between the two.
'Beside these projects, metro is also coming to the state capital. Samajwadi Party government is doing things as per the requirement of today but at the same time it has not forgotten its own traditional things. Amul is also setting up its plant nearby and we are also getting cycle tracks made", he said.
Taking a dig at the media, he said that although they (mediapersons) know what all work is being done by the government for the development of the state, they give it a different direction.
"Government would continue to do what it has to do no matter what others say", he said.
