Yogi Adityanath-led government in UP seems to be tightening its noose around the pet projects of former chief minister Akhilesh Yadav. First it was Gomati River Front project in the heart of Lucknow and now it is the Lucknow-Agra expressway project which is on the radar of the CM.
The CEO of Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) Avanish Awasthi has been asked to unearth irregularities in the Rs 15,000 crore project. Awasthi, along with his team of experts, began the probe on Sunday and collected road samples from five different places to find out whether the construction had taken place as per norms.
The 302-km long expressway, connecting Lucknow and Agra with a three-km long air strip on which fighter planes can land, has been a dream project of Akhilesh Yadav. The SP had introduced the project during the poll campaigns to show the development of the state under the party's rule.
The SP government bought around 3,500 hectares of land from farmers in over 200 villages spread over 10 districts. There were allegations that norms were flouted while acquiring the land and sub standard materials were used for construction.
Earlier, CM Adityanath himself had inspected the Gomti River Front Project worth Rs 1,400 crore, initiated by Akhilesh government for the beautification of river Gomti and surrounding areas, and subsequently ordered and inquiry into the project. There were complaints of large-scale irregularities into this project. A three-member inquiry commission, headed by a sitting judge of the high court, was constituted to probe the project. The commission had submitted its report a few days ago.
PWD Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya had made it clear that the present government will inquire into all major construction projects initiated by the previous SP regime. This is the first time an inspection has been carried out to check construction quality.
Awasthi said inspection was spread over five zones and samples have been collected from all these zones for preliminary inspection. A detailed inspection will be carried out later.
