‘Lucknow-Agra Expressway to come up in 4 yrs’ - Hindustan Times
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‘Lucknow-Agra Expressway to come up in 4 yrs’

Hindustan Times | By, Lucknow
Aug 25, 2012 12:49 PM IST

The Lucknow-Agra expressway would be developed as a greenfield project over the next four years, infrastructure and industrial development commissioner (IIDC) Anil Kumar Gupta reiterated here on Friday. HT reports.

The Lucknow-Agra expressway would be developed as a greenfield project over the next four years, infrastructure and industrial development commissioner (IIDC) Anil Kumar Gupta reiterated here on Friday.

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It would ensure no harm to the environment, said Gupta about the project that chief minister Akhilesh Yadav cleared a few weeks ago. Gupta was speaking at “CII Infrastructure Conclave 2012: Developing Urban and Rural Infrastructure in UP”.

“The interests of farmers would be protected and efforts would also be made to expand the project to provide easy access to mandis,” he added.
“Nearly 26 existing roads have been identified for widening and industrial estates will be developed along them,” Gupta said, adding that the work would begin in the next few months. Every district headquarters would be connected to Lucknow with four-lane roads, he announced. The government would give good compensation to farmers against their land, he emphasised.

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On power front, Gupta said, “unless the feeders of the mofussil towns and rural areas are segregated, the issue of power loss would not be resolved. And unless we strengthen our distribution network, merely buying power will not solve the problem. Better managerial interventions are needed in the state.”
He also said the powerhouses to be set up via the MoU route had been given a breather as they could not be blamed for delay in establishing coal linkages. Once these projects are commissioned, Uttar Pradesh, that faces a shortage of 2,500-3,000 MW, will be a power surplus state by the next plan period. Also, better plant load factor in the state-owned thermal power plants could help generate 2500 MW of power, he added.

He also said 4G technology would be brought to UP soon and the government was already in talks with the service providers. A nodal agency has also been formed to facilitate the same.

Alok Kumar, the transport commissioner and Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation managing director, said the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Project and the proposed Lucknow-Agra expressway had the potential to change the state’s landscape.

“Uttar Pradesh offers significant growth opportunities in infrastructure development. The private sector can act as an important stimulus in meeting the infrastructure needs of the state.” said Sameer Gupta, vice chairman, CII, UP Zonal Council and MD, Jackson Engineers Ltd.

Praveer Sinha, co-chairman (Power Reforms), CII -Regional Committee on Power Reforms & Renewable Energy and CEO and executive director Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd, said reforms and infrastructure development were the only way forward to make the power scenario sustainable.

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