Yogi 2.0 consolidates on first term
In my last meeting with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, I asked him what will be his main focus in his second term. His reply sums up today’s aspirational Uttar Pradesh. He said in his first term, his government performed better than previous three chief ministers on law and order, infrastructure, service delivery and in growing UP’s economy. In his second stint, he will work better than his own previous term. And his actions are testimony to his statement in first six months of his second term.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath spoke about $1 trillion economy target for UP during the 2022 assembly elections. Just after BJP’s massive victory this year, even before taking the oath of office, his government floated the ‘Request for Proposal’ (RFP) for engaging a leading consulting organisation for helping the state for their target of $1 trillion economy. And within three months, a contract was awarded to one of the top four global consulting company. The state has waited enough to realise its true potential, and under Yogi, UP seems to be living its aspirations.
In my conversations with him, I notice him frequently using terms like dashboard, data, benchmark, geo-tagging, comparison, deadline and monitoring, and his energy is no less than a start-up CEO.
Whether it was providing employment to the youth in the state, making the infrastructure investment-worthy, or working towards the goal of achieving $1 trillion economy and cracking down on the mafia and criminals, the government’s performance has been impressive on all counts during the last six months.
Infrastructure Development Gains Momentum
The network of expressways spread over 1,225 km in UP has not only made travel easier and faster, but is also leading to growth of industrial hubs on both sides of the expressways, giving impetus to the development of the state. The government is also working on having six new expressways in the coming months. It has also fast-tracked its efforts to enhance air connectivity with five international airports and connecting all divisions of the state by air. Health ATMs are being installed in all 4,600 primary health centers of the state. Besides, medical colleges are operational in 65 districts while AIIMS is running in Gorakhpur and Raebareli. A total of 6.51 crore people of the state have been covered under health insurance of up to Rs 5 lakh through Ayushman card.
Law and Order: 36 Mafia Dons Punished
As many 36 mafia dons and their goons, including Mukhtar Ansari, have been sentenced to life imprisonment and two to death. Along with this, in the last six months, illegally earned properties worth more than Rs 2,200 crore of 62 mafias have been confiscated and demolished. Uttar Pradesh also ranks first in the country in awarding punishment in the shortest time. UP Police has registered 396 cases against 860 associates of mafia gangs and arrested more than 400. Action has been taken against 174 under Goonda Act, 355 under Gangster Act, 13 under NSA and have also cancelled 310 arms licences. In the campaign against the drug mafia from August 24 to September 8, the police identified 2,833 suspected accused and took action against 2,479 while registering 2,277 cases.
Blueprint Ready to Bring Investment of Rs 10 Lakh Crore
More than two dozen policies are being upgraded ahead of the Global Investor Summit-23 (GIS) to be held in January whereas the new Industrial Policy, Warehousing and Logistics Policy and Electronic Vehicle Policy are on the anvil. Road shows for GIS-23 will also be held in seven major cities of the country including 17 countries. In the last six months, 55 companies have received investment proposals worth Rs 45,000 crore. In the last five years, the maximum investment of Rs 94,632 crore has been made in the IT and Electronics sector. In the last five-and-a-half years, the government has signed MoUs worth Rs.4.68 lakh crore, out of which projects worth Rs 3.82 lakh crore have been completed. Under the ease of doing business, 205 reforms have been implemented till August 21 this year and another 142 reforms will be carried out by October 31.
Youth and Employment
During Yogi government’s second term, more than 93,000 youths got jobs through fairs, while more than 1.42 lakh have got guidance under career counselling. The government also decided to make sportspersons, who have won medals in international competitions, gazetted officers, and has identified 24 posts in various departments. Khelo India Centres are being set up in each district under the One District One Sports scheme and each centre is being provided Rs 7 lakh to promote sports. Fifteen projects of Khelo India have already been completed in the state.
In higher education, e-learning courses have been developed in 119 government colleges, with the help of which youth are learning new things. Smart classes have been arranged in 87 government colleges and while 111 contracts have been signed by 27 universities of the state with national level institutions. Besides, 26 new government polytechnics have been approved and 24 are under construction.
Women Empowerment
So far, more than 13.67 lakh girls have benefitted in the state from ‘Kanya Sumangala’. Under the Chief Minister’s Mass Marriage Scheme, the government has so far got 1,91,686 daughters of economically weaker families married in Uttar Pradesh. The purpose of deployment of Banking Sakhi in 58,000 gram panchayats is to strengthen daughters and women. The Chief Minister’s initiative is helping around 48,000 women to do financial transactions worth Rs 5,451 crore and earn more than Rs 14.15 crore since 2020. Women’s Self-Help Groups (WSHG) members in the form of Bijli Sakhis have so far completed collection of electricity bills of more than Rs 173.5 crore and have successfully earned a commission of Rs 2.39 crore. To create a safe environment for daughters and women, the Yogi government is setting up three women PAC battalions for the first time in the state. At the same time, women help desks have been set up in all 1,584 police stations (including GRP) of the state, and 10,417 women police beats have been constituted.
Record Payment made to Sugarcane Farmers
By setting a record in payment to sugarcane farmers, the Yogi government has silenced the opposition parties. During 2012-2017, only Rs 95 lakh crore was paid to sugarcane farmers while Rs 1.51 lakh crore has been paid in the last five years after Yogi Adityanath became the Chief Minister. The total payment made by the government is around Rs 1.78 lakh crore. This is a record since Independence. The sugarcane production which was 1,486.57 lakh metric tonnes in 2016-2017 has increased to 11,059 lakh metric tonnes in 2020-2021. During the same period, sugar production increased from 87.73 to 110.59 lakh metric tonnes and sugarcane productivity increased from 72.38 to 81.5 MT per hectare. At present, 55 mills are making ethanol from heavy molasses. Pipraich will be the first mill in North India to produce ethanol directly from sugarcane juice. UP is also number one in the country in the production of ethanol.
Shantanu Gupta is the biographer of Yogi Adityanath with his book titled The Monk Who Became Chief Minister. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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