UP govt prunes Gomti riverfront project

Work comes to a stop, order for two imported water buses cancelled; more schemes to be axed

LUCKNOW: Those waiting to savour the beauty of the Gomti riverfront via a cruise on the yetto-be launched modern water bus service will have to wait a bit longer.

This is because after ordering an inquiry into the river channelisation project, Uttar Pradesh government has decided to slash its budget and cancel the order for two imported water buses which were to ply in the city’s lifeline.

As of now the irrigation department has procured only one 30-seater air-conditioned bus, trials for which have already been conducted and the service, which was supposed to start in January this year is yet to take off. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who inspected work on the riverfront last month, was upset over the manner in which funds earmarked for the project were spent more on its cosmetic makeover rather on cleaning the river water. From Rs 2450 crore, the budget, according to sources, has now been pruned to Rs 2100 crore by the government. Work on the project has come to a stop. Irrigation department sources said it would resume only after the revised estimate is approved and funds required to complete it are released by the government.

Other pet projects initiated by the SP government, which have already been scrapped or maybe discontinued include the Samajwadi Pension scheme and cycle tracks in various. Other projects on the chopping block are:

JP INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION CENTRE

This Rs 846 crore project too has come under the government scanner. Funds for the project would be slashed and the proposal for a seven-star hotel too would be scrapped.

SAMAJWADI SMARTPHONE SCHEME

The free smartphone scheme, which was launched in October 2016 and received over 1.40 crore registration, stands scrapped.

JANESHWAR MISHRA GRAM YOJANA

Started in 2012-13, the SP regime had chosen over 5,000 villages and allocated Rs 40 lakh to each for building CC roads, drains, strengthening and improvement of other infrastructure and civic amenities through Mandi Parishad. The Yogi government has cancelled the scheme.

LOHIA AASRA AND AWAAS YOJANA

The scheme to provide free houses to the shelter-less in rural areas was mooted on Feb 20, 2013 by the Akhilesh Yadav regime. The government had set a target of building at least 10,000 houses and empowered each MLA and MLC to allot at least 10 each in their respective constituencies. However, only few thousand houses were built and the housing scheme has been cancelled and may be launched under a new name after re-selection of the beneficiaries.