Lucknow: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday said that Uttar Pradesh is the state with the most municipal bodies in the country and these bodies have become the axis of the positive change being witnessed in the state for the last six years.
While inaugurating and laying the foundation stone of over 2,042 development projects worth Rs 8,754 crores in Lucknow, the CM said, “There are 762 municipal bodies in the state with a population of about seven crores. The municipal bodies with more than 4.32 crore voters will go to polls in near future.”
He said, “Historic work has been done in the last six years to improve lives of people under ‘Ease of Living’ and it will continue on a war footing in future also. Our urban bodies have become the axis of this state’s transformation.”
On the occasion, the CM also launched numerous books including books related to State’s urban digital mission, Progress of Swachh Bharat Mission, Govansh Protection and a Manual to protect dogs among others. He also flagged off tempo tripper vehicles and handed over keys of houses to beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (Urban) scheme.
Deputy Chief Minister Brajesh Pathak, Energy and Urban Development Minister AK Sharma and Minister of State Urban Development Rakesh Rathore ‘Guru’ were present on the occasion.
Addressing the people, the CM congratulated everyone on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti and 43rd Foundation Day of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). “The largest political party in the world, the BJP, was founded today. Although we do not mention the name of the political party in government events, the BJP has done the work of reaching different sections of society without discrimination under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.”
He praised the efforts made by the PM during the Covid pandemic and stated that UP is now receiving the benefits of all schemes under the leadership of PM Modi.
Yogi said, “A pandemic like this had already arrived 100 years ago also in which people died not only of illness, but also of starvation whereas during the Covid pandemic, free vaccinations, tests, rations, and facilities were made available to the people for the first time in the history of the country, thanks to PM Modi’s leadership.”
Describing it as a successful model which was being praised by the entire world, he in a veiled attack on the Congress party and said that it would serve well to open eyes of all those who divided independent India on the basis of caste, region, and language and made false promises.
The CM said that those who seek to divide the nation along lines of caste, creed, and religion, have nothing to do with progress. “They don’t care about the underprivileged; they are only interested in themselves,” he said.
Stressing the importance of the development projects, he said that the worth of the projects being introduced today in UP was over Rs 8.731 crores, which was equivalent to the annual budgets of some of the states.
Yogi said, “While we are spending money on development, countries like Pakistan are struggling for food,” he said.
He said that all the efforts were being made to transform urban life in the state, pointing out that seven municipal corporations within the state have been included in the Smart City Mission, while the process of connecting all 17 municipal corporations with the mission is underway. “UP is currently leading the nation in the Smart City Mission’s implementation,” he said.
Lauding the sanitation workers, the CM said that the government has formed a committee under the supervision of the Chief Secretary to ensure provision of a good honorarium to them and that a State level board will also be constituted, if there is a need. “The sanitation workers must get the respect they deserve. In particular, the government will ensure the arrangement for the security of sewers along with the provision of additional honorarium for them,” he said.
He said that 60 cities have been approved under the AMRUT scheme. “Apart from this, the Urban Development Department has also started other projects. In near future, 100 such Nagar Panchayats will be selected, which will be developed as aspirational cities,” he said.
Yogi said that a state’s economy cannot gain momentum without urban development and no one should be deprived of development. He said that ambassadors or any person from anywhere in the world visiting Lucknow today clearly praise the city for its cleanliness.
He said, “Prosperity will exist where there is cleanliness on one hand and security on the other.”
