Varanasi, Mar 25 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya on Tuesday said the BJP government’s biggest achievement was “good governance” in its eight year-run.
Maurya, while listing the state’s infrastructural progress, particularly focused on Varanasi, which has been Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s parliamentary constituency since 2014.
“In the last eight years, development projects worth Rs 40,000 crore have been completed in Varanasi, while work on projects worth Rs 15,000 crore is currently underway,” he said.
According to Maurya, 458 projects worth Rs 40,536 crore have been completed in Varanasi across sectors such as roads, bridges, drinking water, sewage treatment, STPs, education, healthcare, energy, tourism, urban development, and police welfare.
He said Rs 22,408 crore has been invested in road infrastructure across the district, with 102 projects completed, including the Ring Road, and several national and state highways, and bridges.
The Deputy CM also underlined major tourism projects in Varanasi worth Rs 721 crore, including Namo Ghat, Shri Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, and Sarnath tourism redevelopment.
He said 826.85 km of new roads have been built in the last eight years, along with the establishment of 30 new degree colleges, 20 new ITIs, and 31 new polytechnic institutes in the district.
Maurya said that the comprehensive development in Varanasi has led to a sharp rise in the district’s GDP. “In 2017, Varanasi’s GDP was Rs 22,586.91 crore. Today, it has grown to Rs 43,899.75 crore — nearly double.” The per capita income of the district has increased to Rs 90,028, he said.
Maurya credited this transformation to the “visionary leadership of PM Narendra Modi and CM Yogi Adityanath.” “Ensuring the safety of 24 crore residents of Uttar Pradesh is our responsibility. Over the last eight years, we have provided eight lakh government jobs based purely on merit and have successfully worked toward women’s empowerment,” he claimed.
Maurya criticised the previous Samajwadi Party government, alleging that before 2017, UP was plagued by criminals and riots and was classified as a backward state.
He claimed that under the present dispensation six crore people were lifted out of poverty.
“We have provided Ujjwala Yojana benefits to 1.56 crore women in UP, ensuring cleaner cooking fuel for their households,” he added.
He claimed that in 2016, the unemployment rate in Uttar Pradesh was 18 per cent, which has now come down to just 2.5 per cent.
Maurya also called the Har Ghar Nal Yojana (Tap Water for Every Home) the largest initiative of its kind globally, claiming that 2.37 crore households in UP have been provided with tap water connections. PTI COR KIS VN VN
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