Western UP set to get largest share of investment pie

Eastern UP’s share will be 23%, the second highest

LUCKNOW: Western Uttar Pradesh will be the biggest gainer followed by eastern UP when Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches new projects involving an investment of Rs 60,000 crore at the first ground-breaking ceremony here on Sunday.

The groundbreaking ceremony is being organised to implement about 80 of the 1045 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) signed ahead of Uttar Pradesh Investors’ Summit 2018 held in February.

Although a region-wise breakup of the projects being launched at the ground-breaking ceremony was not officially available, people associated with the preparations for the mega event said western UP’s share in the investment will be about 53% of the total in view of its proximity to New Delhi. The national capital region, including Noida and Greater Noida region, is part of western UP. Eastern UP’s share will be 23%, the second highest from the investment pie, they said. Central UP and Bundelkhand will get 21% and 3% investment respectively, they added.

Uttar Pradesh, which has the distinction of electing nine prime ministers, has a large variation in geographical conditions. Based on these variations, the state is divided in four economic regions: western UP, eastern UP, central UP and Bundelkhand.

Although development of east UP and Bundelkhand, considered to be the most backward regions, has topped their political agenda, successive governments have failed to ensure economic growth there.

The Purvanchal Vikas Nidhi and the Bundelkhand Vikas Nidhi, set up to fund projects based on local needs and develop infrastructure, have failed to make any difference there, those privy to the issue said.

Both the regions have remained on top of chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s agenda as well. Adityanath, who comes from Gorakhpur region in east UP, has been taking personal interest in bringing development and projects to the region. The PM had early this month laid foundation stone of the Purvanchal Expressway to connect east UP with the state capital. The Yogi Adityanath government has planned the Bundelkhand Expressway to improve connectivity to the region. As east UP and Bundelkhand have lagged behind in terms of development, low investment in the backward region will only add to regional disparities, notwithstanding the claims of consistent efforts to eradicate them.

The state government proposes to set up mandis (markets) and industrial belts, along the expressways, to bring about development in backward regions. A state planning department

document worked out after the 2011 census indicates that west UP had the highest number of registered factories (12.74) per lakh population followed by central UP with 7.17 registered factories

per lakh population.

On the other hand, the number of registered factories per lakh population in east UP and Bundelkhand was 1.75 and 1.43 respectively.