Stressing on implementation of public welfare schemes so that there was improvement in Ease of Living, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that infrastructure was being developed at a rapid pace and it was giving a new dimension to progress.

The chief minister was expressing his views while dedicating and laying the foundation stone of two flyover projects costing Rs 280 crore in Lucknow.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari were also present. They inaugurated a 4-lane flyover at Tehri Pulia and laid the foundation stone of a 4-lane flyover in Khurram Nagar.

"Remarkable work has been done in the field of infrastructure development in the state. The work of connecting the inter-state highways with district headquarters with 4-lane roads and tehsil and block headquarters with 2-lane roads is in the final stage," he said.

"Construction of five expressways is in progress. The work of Purvanchal Expressway is in the final stage. About 50 per cent work of Bundelkhand Expressway has been completed. Work is progressing on a war footing on Gorakhpur Link Expressway and Ballia Link Expressway. The process of acquiring land for Ganga Expressway from Meerut to Prayagraj is progressing rapidly," the chief minister said and added that construction of high-level roads in the state would speed up economic activities of the state.

The chief minister said that to speed up the construction of national highways in UP, the state government, despite its limited financial resources, had taken many important decisions. He said under this, royalty from soil had been eliminated and utility shifting supervision charges had been reduced from 15 per cent to 5 per cent.

He said that both the number and length of highways in the state were increasing rapidly.

 Expressing gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari for this, the chief minister said that the Greenfield Expressway was to be constructed between Lucknow and Kanpur. He said with this construction, the journey from Lucknow to Kanpur would take just half an hour. He said the 12-lane expressway between Delhi-Meerut was almost complete and Kisan Path was being constructed in Lucknow as Outer Ring Road and it would become the lifeline of Lucknow.

The chief minister expressed his commitment to the defense minister for the establishment of a DRDO centre in Lucknow. He expressed gratitude to Gadkari, who is also Union MSME minister, for approving the proposal sent to the Union MSME ministry for Lucknow, Agra and Gorakhpur districts for the purpose of promoting One District, One Product scheme and development of MSME enterprises.

"A large number of jobs are created through the MSME sector. With the support of the Central government, now micro, small and medium enterprises can be connected with modern technology," he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Gadkari said that the states lagging behind in the development process were given priority. He said such states were now coming forward rapidly on the development path. He said good roads brought prosperity.

He also announced that the length of the national highways in UP had increased by 40 per cent. He said currently 37 kilometers of national highways were being built every day, which was a world record, and the country ranked first in fastest road construction.

Addressing the gathering, Defence Minister and local MP Rajnath Singh said that the construction of the flyover had been completed within the stipulated time.

This 5.5-meter flyover is built with the latest technology. Due to the height of the bridge, double-decker buses etc. can also pass through it. The construction of this bridge will ease traffic jams.

 Laying the foundation stone of the flyover from Khurram Nagar to Sector-25, Singh requested Gadkari to link this flyover to the Kukrail flyover.

Singh said that Lucknow was developing at a rapid pace and soon it would be among the three best cities of India. He said that the Outer Ring Road was being constructed at a cost of about Rs 5,400 crore and it was expected to be complete by December 2021.

"A DRDO centre is being established in Lucknow. For this, land is being arranged," he added.

Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Dinesh Sharma also spoke on this occasion.