Akhilesh to tweak, revive, Maya's Ganga Expressway.

The Akhilesh Yadav government has decided to take up the ambitious project of Mayawati, Ganga Expressway, albeit with some revision.

The 1047-km-long stretch from Ballia to Noida, the Ganga Expressway was conceived during the previous BSP regime with Jaypee Group bagging the contract for the construction work. The project, however, was shelved after Mayawati was voted out of power while Jaypee pulled out of the project withdrawing its bank guarantee.

Now, after initiating Agra-Lucknow Expressway, the Samajwadi Party government has decided to revive the Ganga Expressway. Files pertaining to the project are being updated in Uttar Pradesh Expressway Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA). Currently, the shelved project has a liability of only Rs. 32 crore which needs to be returned to Jaypee Group before starting the project afresh.

'This amount was provided by the Jaypee Group to respective District Magistrates to be distributed as compensation to farmers. Since land acquisition did not take place, the money is lying idle and has to be returned,' Navneet Sehgal, Chief Executive Officer, UPEIDA, told The Indian Express.


THE INDIAN EXPRESS