: As the stage is set for the inauguration of the 594-kilometre Ganga Expressway by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, Mallawan Nagar Palika, a hitherto sleepy town in Hardoi district where the ceremony will be held, has come alive for its tryst with development.
Built at a cost of ₹36,230 crore, the expressway, the longest in the country, will connect Meerut to Prayagraj, traversing 12 districts – Hapur, Bulandshahr, Amroha, Sambhal, Budaun, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Unnao, Rae Bareli, Pratapgarh and Prayagraj.
The expressway will reduce the travel time between western and eastern Uttar Pradesh, benefitting rural regions that have long remained outside the development mainstream.
The project marks the last big-ticket infrastructure initiative of the Yogi Adityanath government before Uttar Pradesh heads into assembly polls in early 2027 and its inauguration follows the opening of the Noida International Airport by the prime minister on March 28.
Ahead of the inauguration, hundreds of workers, braving the scorching sun, have toiled to set up a massive marquee just close to the Ganga Expressway’s cut in Mallawan, 98 km from Lucknow, for the PM’s mega event.
The land of 1100 farmers has been temporarily acquired for the programme and flattened with road rollers, removing all demarcations between adjoining farmlands.
{{/usCountry}}The land of 1100 farmers has been temporarily acquired for the programme and flattened with road rollers, removing all demarcations between adjoining farmlands.
{{/usCountry}}The Mallawan chauraha (crossing) has become the town’s lifeline. Ajay Yadav runs a small shop and the only newspaper agency here.
“We are hopeful that Mallawan will benefit once the Ganga Expressway becomes operational. Mostly, farmers will have access to a bigger market,” Yadav says.
He adds that traders will also benefit once the inflow of passengers increases.
Rizwan Hussain, a local journalist, is more specific and says, “The benefits of the Ganga Expressway for the people of Mallawan and the rest of the Hardoi district will be available when the state government rolls out the State Capital Region (SCR) project.”
On the lines of the National Capital Region, the state government has approved SCR that will include six districts – Lucknow, Sitapur, Barabanki, Rae Bareli, Hardoi and Unnao. It will have an area of around 28,826 sq km and a population of nearly 2.3 crore.
The SCR’s main objective is to negate imbalanced growth and rapid population influx in Lucknow from adjoining districts.
About 99 km of the Ganga Expressway passes through Hardoi district. Bilgram tehsil hosts the second cut of the Ganga Expressway in the district.
“The Ganga Expressway and the SCR will together change Hardoi’s fate,” Hussain says.
Locals credit deputy chief minister Brajesh Pathak for the cut on the Ganga Expressway in Mallawan. Mallawan is Pathak’s hometown.
What farmers say
“The state government has paid four times the circle rate to farmers whose land was acquired for the Ganga Expressway,” says Vijay Tripathi, a local farmer whose land is now a part of the Ganga Expressway.
“But after acquiring the land for the project, the state government revised the circle rate. This revision should have been before the land was acquired for the Ganga Expressway,” he adds.
“Only a farmer whose land has been acquired for a government project can understand my pain. Now, when the expressway is ready for inauguration, the cost of farmland in Mallawan near the expressway has risen manifold, even from the revised circle rate,” he says.
Circle rates are the government-notified minimum prices at which properties can be registered during a transaction.
Paving the way for transformation
The 594-kilometre Ganga Expressway, one of Uttar Pradesh’s largest infrastructure projects, is more than just a road. It has the potential to write a new story of economic transformation across hundreds of villages from Western parts of the state to its eastern region .
When roads, markets, and investment reach a region together, economic activity grows rapidly — and the Ganga Expressway is set to deliver exactly that across Uttar Pradesh’s heartland.
Connecting Meerut to Prayagraj, the expressway will link 12 districts and over 500 villages, bringing the pace of development to regions that have long been considered backward and agriculture-dependent.
Agriculture to get direct market access
The economy of most villages in these districts is primarily agriculture-based. Farmers have long struggled with delayed transportation of their produce to major markets.
Poor road connectivity and long distances drive up transport costs, often forcing farmers to sell their crops at lower prices in local mandis.
Badaun is a prime example. In villages across Dataganj and Ujhani, farmers extensively cultivate potatoes, wheat, mustard, and sugarcane. But reaching large markets like Delhi and Lucknow takes several hours. Once the expressway is operational, this distance will reduce significantly, enabling farmers to supply their produce directly to bigger markets and secure better prices.
The area around Badaun is also likely to see new cold storages and warehouses, which will help preserve perishable crops like potatoes and vegetables.
Boost for dairy and sugarcane in Sambhal
Several villages in Sambhal district will also be connected via the expressway.
Areas like Asamoli, Bahjoi and Gunnaur are known for sugarcane production and dairy farming. Large quantities of milk and sugarcane products are currently transported to neighboring districts.
With improved road connectivity, the supply of milk and agricultural produce to Delhi-NCR and Meerut will become faster and easier, opening up new opportunities for dairy and food processing industries.
Shahjahanpur to emerge as logistics hub
In Shahjahanpur’s Jalalabad and Puwayan areas, paddy and sugarcane cultivation is widespread.
While the region is known for agricultural output, it has lagged in industry and logistics. The Ganga Expressway is expected to attract warehouses, transport hubs, and food processing units here, creating employment for local youth and opening up new markets for farmers’ produce.
Hardoi’s farmers to benefit from reduced costs
Hardoi district will also be part of this transformation. Around 99 km of the Ganga Expressway will pass through the Hardoi district. In villages of Sandhi, Shahabad, and Bilgram, wheat, gram, pigeon pea, and mustard are the main crops.
At present, it takes farmers considerable time to transport their produce to Lucknow or Kanpur mandis. The expressway will cut both distance and travel time, reducing transport costs and boosting farmers’ incomes.
Non-farm employment and rural economy to get a fillip
Along the Ganga Expressway, logistics parks, warehouses, petrol pumps, EV charging stations, and small-scale industries are expected to come up.
This will generate non-agricultural employment opportunities in rural areas. Villages that are today known only for farming could soon see new opportunities in trade and services.
Integrated Manufacturing and Logistics Clusters
Applications have been invited for Integrated Manufacturing and Logistics Clusters (IMLCs) being set up in Meerut, Unnao, Badaun, Sambhal, Hardoi, and Shahjahanpur. Land has been acquired in Meerut (529 acres), Unnao (333 acres), Badaun (269 acres), Sambhal (591 acres), Hardoi (335 acres), Shahjahanpur (252 acres), The plot rate is the highest in Meerut and lowest in Hardoi.
Following this, UPEIDA has started acquiring land along expressways in 27 districts to establish IMLCs. As part of this initiative, 12 IMLCs are being developed along the Ganga Expressway.
Built at a cost of ₹36,230 crore, the expressway is expected to significantly improve connectivity between Meerut and Prayagraj, and across the 12 districts in between after it becomes operational.
According to the UPEIDA, all basic infrastructure facilities at the IMLCs being developed in Meerut, Hapur, Bulandshahr, Amroha, Sambhal, Badaun, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Unnao, Raebareli, Pratapgarh, and Prayagraj.
Currently, the UPEIDA has invited investment applications for the IMLCs in Meerut, Unnao, Badaun, Sambhal, Hardoi, and Shahjahanpur.
The authority aims to allot maximum plots in the six IMLCs that are ready before the inauguration of the Ganga Expressway.