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The state government has taken a historic step towards the modern expansion of Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, and to meet the future residential needs. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday performed bhumi pujan and laid the foundation stone amid chanting of Vedic mantras for five state-of-the-art group housing projects, including two mega townships—’Varun Vihar’ and ‘Naimish Nagar’—being developed by the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA). With the Bhoomi Pujan of these two residential schemes, to be developed with a huge financial cost of Rs 12 thousand crore, the authority has also opened the window for formal registration of plots for the general public and investors. This strategic step of the state government will not only provide well-planned residential housing in the capital, but will also prove to be a milestone in providing world-class civic amenities by eliminating the network of unauthorized colonies and illegal constructions.
Under this ambitious mega project, a state-of-the-art satellite city has been planned to be set up on more than 10,600 acres of land on both ends of Lucknow. Presenting the detailed blueprint, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that ‘Varun Vihar Residential Scheme’ being developed along the Agra Expressway in Kakori area will be spread over a vast land of more than 6,500 acres, which will be directly connected to Western UP and Delhi through expressway connectivity. On the other hand, ‘Naimish Nagar Residential Scheme’ located on Sitapur Road and IIM Road corridor is being prepared in an area of about 4,100 acres, which will become the main gateway to the spiritual city of Naimisharanya and the districts of Central UP. Keeping in mind the pockets of common citizens, the authority has fixed the rates of residential plots in these two major schemes at around ₹ 2,800 to ₹ 3,800 per square foot. Additionally, the foundation stone of five multi-storey group housing apartments for the middle class and working professionals to be built at a cost of ₹2,166 crore was also laid, so that every income group can have their own home.
Addressing the Bhoomi Pujan ceremony, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath strongly attacked unplanned and illegal development. He said that due to unplanned colonies and arbitrary constructions, the general public has to suffer the most and suffer economic losses. In olden times, land mafia used to cut illegal plots on agricultural lands where there were neither paved roads, nor underground sewer lines, nor electric poles nor any pipeline of clean drinking water. During the monsoon season, when there is severe waterlogging in these areas, common citizens are forced to live a hellish life for years. CM Yogi said in clear words that now the era of disorganized development has ended in Uttar Pradesh. The government’s objective is not just to sell vacant land or plots, but to create a holistic and self-reliant lifestyle with wide four-lane and six-lane roads, underground utility ducts, state-of-the-art drainage networks, 24-hour water supply, green parks, schools, hospitals and commercial hubs.
This expansion of the capital Lucknow is directly linked to the Uttar Pradesh government’s ambitious ‘State Capital Region’ (SCR) vision. On the lines of Delhi-NCR, Lucknow and its surrounding five neighboring districts—Unnao, Hardoi, Sitapur, Barabanki and Rae Bareli—are being developed as a huge economic and logistics cluster. The Chief Minister underlined that both these new townships will have direct geographical connection with the SCR network, which will make regional public mobility faster and easier. Through the Outer Ring Road (Kisan Path), Expressway Network and Regional Rapid Transit System, citizens of these six districts will be able to reach the major centers of Lucknow without any jam. This will reduce the increasing population pressure on the main city of Lucknow and create new opportunities for employment, real estate and tourism in the surrounding suburban areas.
In the coming times, this entire 10,600-acre area will not be limited to just residential colonies, but will be transformed into a major Information Technology (IT), knowledge hub and semiconductor ecosystem of the country. The master plans of Varun Vihar and Naimish Nagar have special zoning for large IT parks, data centres, start-up incubation labs and modern health research institutes. The Chief Minister said that amid the expansion of Jewar Airport and Lucknow International Airport, this entire belt is emerging as a preferred destination for global multinational companies and domestic tech giants. The youth will get high paying jobs in their own home state and Lucknow will be recognized on the world stage as a traditional heritage city as well as a futuristic hi-tech metropolitan city.