LUCKNOW: In a significant administrative development, the state government withdrew Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) from the industrial development department, the portfolio held by Nand Gopal Gupta Nandi.
The government shifted UPEIDA to the infrastructure department, bringing all expressway construction and development work directly under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
So far, the project, budget, and approval files related to UPEIDA were routed through Nandi's department. Under the new arrangement, they will be cleared directly by the Chief Minister's Office.
As per the state government sources, the move was made to improve coordination between the infrastructure and industrial development departments, speed up decision-making, and reduce delays in the completion of projects.
Officials said the change was aimed at streamlining the distribution of work between the infrastructure and industrial development departments.
Additional chief secretary, infrastructure and industrial development, Alok Kumar, said the infrastructure development department had always functioned as a separate entity through a dedicated section in the government.
However, an overlap had emerged between the infrastructure development wing and the section in the industrial development department handling UPEIDA.
“There was duplication like work being handled by the two sections. The reshuffle is aimed at removing this overlap and ensuring greater administrative efficiency,” Kumar said.
Going forward, proposals and files will be processed through the chief minister’s office. UPEIDA was constituted in December 2007 by the industrial development department to develop expressways and promote industrial growth along access-controlled high-speed corridors.
Over the years, however, the authority’s primary role has increasingly centred on creating large-scale infrastructure.
According to a senior official, the core objective of UPEIDA is infrastructure creation, which subsequently facilitates industrial development. The recent restructuring aligns the authority’s administrative control with its principal function.
Acting on a proposal submitted by the industries department, the secretariat administration department issued an order transferring UPEIDA to the infrastructure development department.
The order noted that since the authority’s core activity was the development of infrastructure facilities, it would be more appropriately placed under the department specifically tasked with infrastructure development rather than industrial development.
However, political circles view it as a setback for Nand Gopal Gupta 'Nandi.'
The decision is also being linked to his alleged ongoing tussle with Additional Chief Secretary Alok Kumar.
Sources said Nandi had raised objections over appointments and deputations in UPEIDA and had allegedly been frequently interfering in its functioning.
The sources claimed that in order to keep UPEIDA's operations free from such interference, it has now been shifted to the Infrastructure Department, which is directly overseen by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.
