UP cabinet approves Ganga E-way extension to Haridwar, eases IT City norms

Suresh Khanna said the nearly 103-km Jhansi Link Expressway would connect Jhansi with the Bundelkhand Expressway at Jalaun. He said the expressway would provide high-speed connectivity to BIDA, the Defence Corridor and important places near Jhansi.

The Uttar Pradesh cabinet on Tuesday approved a slew of expressway and infrastructure development projects, including the extension of the six-lane, expandable to eight-lane, greenfield Ganga Expressway from Meerut to Haridwar in Uttarakhand at a cost of ₹10,761 crore and development of the Jhansi Link Expressway at a cost of ₹7,968.30 crore.

The cabinet, chaired by chief minister Yogi Adityanath in Lucknow on Tuesday. (HT Photo)

Ganga Expressway extension

The cabinet, chaired by chief minister Yogi Adityanath, also approved the proposal to connect the two Kumbh cities, Prayagraj and Haridwar, with an access-controlled expressway.

Briefing media persons, finance minister Suresh Khanna said the detailed project report for the extension of the Ganga Expressway would be prepared following the cabinet’s approval. The 147-km expressway will have a 30-km stretch in Uttarakhand and a speed limit of 120 kmph..

Khanna said the Uttar Pradesh government would bear the cost of the stretch falling in Uttarakhand and would be entitled to collect the toll tax for the same.

Jhansi Link Expressway

Khanna said the nearly 103-km Jhansi Link Expressway would connect Jhansi with the Bundelkhand Expressway at Jalaun. He said the expressway would provide high-speed connectivity to BIDA, the Defence Corridor and important places near Jhansi.

The cabinet also approved a proposal to amend the Uttar Pradesh Information Technology and Information Technology-enabled Services Policy 2022 to relax norms and attract investment, as the prevailing norms were not attracting much investment.

As per the amendment, the minimum area required for developing an IT City has been reduced from 100 acres to 20 acres, and a 40% subsidy will be given on land.

The state cabinet also decided to bring down the area required for developing IT Parks from 15,000 square metres to 2,500 square metres in Lucknow, Kanpur, Prayagraj, Agra and Varanasi. In other areas, the minimum area required would be 1,500 square metres.

Manufacturing cluster in Sultanpur

The state cabinet approved the setting up of Integrated Manufacturing and Logistics Clusters (IMLC) near the Purvanchal Expressway in Sultanpur under the Industrial Corridor Scheme at an estimated cost of ₹272.25 crore.

Letters of Comfort for investments

The state cabinet approved Letters of Comfort for three companies proposing investments of ₹2,606.04 crore under the 2023 Investment Promotion Policy. Agristo Masa will invest ₹794.27 crore in Bijnor, Canpac India ₹1,573.62 crore in Unnao and Supreme Industries ₹238.15 crore in Kanpur Dehat. It also cleared Letters of Comfort for six other mega projects involving ₹2,837.97 crore.