Goons to goods: UP's Purvanchal is charting a new development trajectory

At Uttar Pradesh Excise Minister Nitin Agarwal said that eastern Uttar Pradesh had moved beyond its traditional identity to become a key contributor to the state's economic growth

Once known for harbouring goons and the mafia, Uttar Pradesh's Purvanchal region (Eastern UP) is fast emerging as the state's growth hub on the back of a massive infrastructure push, improved law and order, and ease of doing business, top ministers of the state government said here on Monday at the Business Standard 'Ubharta or Rising Purvanchal' conclave.

 

Delivering his inaugural address, Chief Guest Uttar Pradesh Excise Minister Nitin Agarwal said that eastern Uttar Pradesh had moved beyond its traditional identity to become a key contributor to the state's economic growth.

 

He attributed the transformation to sustained public investment in roads, industrial infrastructure, tourism, education and healthcare.

 

 

The fact that both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath have their bases in eastern UP gives the region added focus and advantage, Agarwal said.

 

He said Varanasi, where the conclave was being held and which lies at the very heart of the whole Purvanchal region, had become the focal point of this transformation, describing the city as a model of balancing heritage conservation with modern urban development.

 

Over the past 12 years, Agarwal said, the city has witnessed significant improvements in physical infrastructure, public services and tourism while retaining its cultural and religious character.

 

According to him, improved connectivity has been the biggest catalyst for economic activity in the region.

 

He cited the 341-km Purvanchal Expressway, which links Lucknow with Ghazipur, as one of the state's flagship infrastructure projects.

 

Besides reducing travel time between eastern Uttar Pradesh and the National Capital Region, the six-lane expressway has improved access for industries and businesses.

 

The project also includes an emergency airstrip at Sultanpur. He also highlighted the 91-km Gorakhpur Link Expressway, which connects Gorakhpur with the Purvanchal Expressway, reducing travel time to Lucknow to around three to three-and-a-half hours.

 

The minister said aviation infrastructure has also expanded with the commissioning of the Kushinagar International Airport, which is expected to strengthen the Buddhist tourism circuit and improve international connectivity for pilgrims and visitors.

 

Industrial infrastructure is also being strengthened.

 

Agarwal said Purvanchal's first flatted factory complex at the Gorakhpur Industrial Development Authority (GIDA) has become operational, providing ready-built manufacturing space for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Around 80 industrial units have already been established at the facility, he said.

 

Looking ahead, the state government is developing an industrial corridor along the Purvanchal Expressway covering 12 districts.

 

The corridor will house garment parks, plastic parks, food processing units, warehouses, logistics hubs and MSME clusters. The objective, Agarwal said, is to attract private investment, create employment opportunities and transform the expressway into an economic corridor rather than merely a transport route.

 

He added that the region's development reflects the state's broader strategy of combining infrastructure creation with industrialisation to accelerate economic growth.

 

With several large projects already completed and new industrial and logistics hubs under development, Purvanchal is expected to play an increasingly important role in Uttar Pradesh's goal of becoming a $1 trillion economy.

 

Agarwal said Varanasi's development demonstrates that economic expansion and preservation of cultural heritage can go hand in hand. The city, he added, has emerged as an example of how investments in connectivity, tourism and industry can create new centres of economic activity while retaining historical and religious significance.

 

Delivering his concluding address, Uttar Pradesh Transport Minister Dayashankar Singh said that today, a person travelling from Meerut can reach Prayagraj in about five-and-a-half to six hours. Earlier, it would take almost as much time just to travel to Delhi to catch a flight.

 

"Such is the improvement in connectivity that has been made possible under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Purvanchal, which has opened up new markets for products from Purvanchal," Singh said.

 

He said Banarasi sarees now have access to wider markets and stronger platforms for promotion. Every district is gradually finding its own identity through its unique products.

 

"If I speak about my own district, Ballia, we initially received recognition for bindis under the One District One Product (ODOP) scheme. However, we felt that sattu (fine gram flour) was a more appropriate product because Ballia, situated between the Ganga and the Sarayu rivers, is known for its gram cultivation. Since much of the area is flood-prone, farmers can often grow only one crop instead of two. We requested Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to include gram and sattu under the ODOP programme, and the proposal was accepted," Singh said.

 

He said as a result of this, the area under gram cultivation in Ballia has increased from about 4,300 hectares to nearly 5,800 hectares in a short time.

 

He said industries are coming to the region, economic opportunities are expanding and the region is no longer identified by its past association with crime and mafia networks.

 

Instead, it is increasingly being recognised for its development and economic progress.

 

Uttar Pradesh Minister of State for MSME Hansraj Vishwakarma, who also addressed the gathering, said that every successful business starts small and grows over time, provided there are no unnecessary obstacles. Earlier, the biggest obstacle was law and order and the threat of goons, which the current Uttar Pradesh government has successfully managed to mitigate over a period of time.

 

"Today, anyone is free to set up a business, whether it is a large industrial unit or a small enterprise, without fear or interference. There is no question of anyone receiving threatening phone calls. Earlier, the situation was very different. Whenever someone tried to establish a business, criminal elements would interfere, force work to stop and demand money. We all know how incidents of kidnapping, extortion and brutal killings were once common in these parts," Vishwakarma said.

 

Later, experts dwelled on the industrial, agricultural and tourism potential of Purvanchal and what best needs to be done to exploit its full potential. In an engaging discussion, the experts said that though the state's eastern region has immense potential and is emerging as a new growth engine, bottlenecks such as problems in implementing policies on the ground and corruption in some areas are creating hurdles.