LUCKNOW: The Uttar Pradesh government has made a proposal to develop a ‘State Capital Region’ (SCR) afloat on the lines of ‘National Capital Region’. The proposed SCR will be inclusive of seven districts including the state capital Lucknow and adjoining Kanpur covering a total area of 28,000 square kilometres.
While issuing the directives to officials concerned over the proposal, CM Yogi Adityanath named it Uttar Pradesh State Capital Region (UPSCR). The CM stressed the need to develop UPSCR to ensure the planned development of some of the cities in the wake of increasing population pressure.
In a meeting with senior officials of the housing and urban planning department, Awas Vikas Parishad and all urban development authorities late on Friday night, the CM said that UPSRC should include districts like Unnao, Sitapur, Rae Bareli, Barabanki, Kanpur Nagar and Kanpur Dehat along with Lucknow.
Seeking a detailed action plan to implement towards the development of UPSRC, CM Yogi said that since Lucknow was equipped with state-of-the-art urban and metropolitan facilities, people from different cities want to come here and make it their permanent abode.
“The population is increasing in neighbouring districts as well and there are complaints of unplanned development which should be corrected as soon as possible,” said the CM.
The CM also asked the concerned officials to start the development of the Lucknow Green Corridor at the earliest. To add to the development of the state capital Lucknow, the CM said that a proposal for the development of the next phase of the Lucknow Metro should be prepared and presented to him within a week as the users of the Lucknow Metro were increasing.
Till 2019, about 72,000 passengers were using the metro daily. Proposed to establish a well-equipped convention centre in Lucknow to host major international events as, the CM said, the city of nawabs had its own significance in the scheme of things by virtue of being the state capital.
“A proposal for a project in an area of at least 35 acres should be prepared for the purpose,” he added.
The CM sought a development plan for 13 major cities of the state including Lucknow, Kanpur, Gorakhpur, Moradabad, Saharanpur, Jhansi, Mathura, Bareilly, Meerut, Agra, Chitrakoot, Varanasi and Prayagraj under the Leeds-2021 policy.
| Total proposed area of UPSCR | 28,000 sq. km. |
| Total districts to be part of UPSCR | 7 (Lucknow, Kanpur Nagar, Unnao, Sitapur, Rae Bareli, Barabanki) |
| Lucknow | Area: 2528 sq km; population: 45,89,838 |
| Kanpur Nagar | Area: 3155 sq km; population: 45,81,268 |
| Kanpur Dehat | Area: 3021 sq km; population: 17,96,184 |
| Unnao | Area: 4558 sq km; population: 31,08,367 |
| Sitapur | Area: 5743 sq, km;population: 44,83,992 |
| Rae Bareli | Area: 4609 sq km; population: 34,05,559 |
| Barabanki | Area: 4402 sq km; population: 32,60,699 |
Focusing on Ayodhya, given its importance due to the construction of the Ram Temple, the CM said that it should be developed as a solar city which will give the world the message of energy conservation. “Work on murals at historical places, Ram Katha gallery, open-air theatre etc should be completed in time and cultural mapping of the Ramayana tradition should be carried out. Ramayana galleries should also be constructed along the Ram Van Gaman Path,” he said.
“The government will provide all urban facilities to Ayodhya while preserving its ancient culture,” CM Yogi added. Giving a further boost to spiritual and religious tourism, the CM directed the officials to complete the ropeway project for the darshan of Radha Rani in Barsana by December this year. Defining the role of development authorities in achieving the goal of making UP a USD 1 trillion economy, CM Yogi said planning for the next 50 years should be taken into account while scheduling development projects.