More expressways promised

The Uttar Pradesh government is planning to build more highways on the pattern of the proposed 1,000-km Ganga express highway that was today inaugurated by Chief Minister Mayawati.

"The quick processing of the Ganga highway has given us an idea that similar projects could be launched in partnership with private developers for linking NOIDA-Delhi with Gorakhpur-Jhansi, besides several other places in the state,'' said UP Cabinet Secretary Shashak Shekhar Singh.

Touting the Ganga express highway, which would link Greater Noida with Balia, as a "brainchild and passion'' of Mayawati, Singh said the chief minister was monitoring the pace of the project on a weekly basis. Mayawati, he said, conceived of this project as a panacea for recurring floods and chronic backwardness in the region during her days as the opposition leader.

"The farmers will be able to raise two crops and sell their produce in New Delhi while artisans will be able to bring their ware to bigger markets within hours,'' she said.

According to a survey by the UP government, the project would need just 28,000-30,000 acres land, most of it barren. This would mean that the number of people displaced was not much.

"Our survey has shown that on the average, after every 100 km, about 12,000-13,000 acres barren land exists in the area,'' Singh said. The land-owners, he said, would be compensated with a liberal package based on the bidding by the developers.