UP emerging as destination for private investors: Yogi

Claiming that Uttar Pradesh was emerging as the destination for private investors, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that out of proposals worth Rs 4.68 lakh crore received during the UP Investors’ Summit 2018 held in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Uttar Pradesh, projects worth Rs 3.68 lakh crore had started .

Addressing a programme organised by a media group in Gorakhpur, the chief minister said that this could be made possible due to the guarantee of “security and strong infrastructure” that his government had been able to provide to the industrialists in just four-and-a-half years of its tenure.

He added: “Before 2017, the law and order situation in UP was so bad that industrialists ran away from making any investments in the state. Security and a sound infrastructure were non-existent. Roads were very poor. Extortion from businessmen by the mafia was rampant. And if at all an entrepreneur dared to take the initiative, he used to retreat after months of futile exercise of running from one office to another due to rampant corruption.”

Yogi said that after taking over the command of UP, he directed officers to work on it and deputed officials to organise programmes in six major cities of the country to bring investment to UP.

“I personally visited Mumbai. There, I got an investment proposal of Rs 2.5 lakh crore in a single day. Everyone knows the achievement of UP’s Investors’ Summit held in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” he said.

The chief minister remarked that when infrastructure was strengthened, availability of employment was also guaranteed through investments.

“Industrial clusters are being built along expressways with the objective to bring investments and create job opportunities on a massive scale,” he said and added that a large number of employment opportunities had been created in the state due to rising investments.

Besides, he said, in the last four-and-a-half years, four-and-a-half lakh youths were given government jobs while more than two crore people got employment through micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), he pointed out.

“It is a matter of joy that the largest state in terms of population has the lowest unemployment rate today,” the chief minister quipped.

Talking about COVID-19 control, he said that the experience of successful control of encephalitis came in handy in the excellent management of the disease caused by novel coronavirus. He asserted that the second wave of the pandemic had been successfully controlled and the government was prepared for the third wave, if at all it took place.

“UP, with a population of 25 crore, has only 600 active cases today. There is not a single case in about 10 districts. We have done 6.64 crore Covid tests in the state. We are also far ahead of other states in vaccination. Yesterday, 28 lakh people were vaccinated in a single day. So far, 5.16 crore people have been vaccinated,” he said.

The chief minister said that the government was capable of vaccinating its entire population in three months if vaccines were available.

Yogi said that his focus was not only on Gorakhpur but the entire state when it came to development.

“All infrastructure projects like Purvanchal Expressway, Bundelkhand Expressway, Ganga Expressway are for the entire state. All the tehsil headquarters are being connected with two-lane and four-lane roads. As 54 borders of the state are adjacent to other states, the focus is also on interstate connectivity,” he said, adding that a 12-lane road would be built between Delhi and Meerut.

The chief minister said that Indians took pride in looking upon Lord Shri Ram as their revered ancestor and those who questioned this, their DNA raised doubts.

He said that no one should hesitate to call Lord Ram our ancestor. He said Indonesian Muslim artistes had come to Ayodhya to perform Ramlila because they believed in Ram.

“Even their names were Sanskritised and despite being Muslims they take pride in the fact that Lord Ram is their ancestor too.”

When was asked to elaborate further on this, he said that he respected Islam, but his ancestor was Lord Ram.