Nearly 635 hectares on auction menu for investors in Uttar Pradesh

To expedite private projects proposed at the recent Uttar Pradesh (UP) Global Investors Summit (GIS) 2023, the UP government has prepared to auction off almost 635 hectares.

The land, equalling nearly 888 Olympic soccer stadiums, has been identified in the urban pockets for allotment to investors.

According to sources, the land has been arranged for urban-centric projects, including hotels, schools, group housing, hospitals, nursing homes, CNG filling stations, logistics, and shopping centres.

“The process of preparing a menu of industrial grade land across UP had started much before the GIS was organised in Lucknow. The industrial development bodies as well as the housing department had been tasked with identifying suitable land for prospective allotment,” a government spokesperson said.

Earlier, UP Housing And Urban Planning Principal Secretary Nitin Ramesh Gokarn had directed these agencies to prepare the required land bank and file a detailed report -- which has now been submitted to the government for action. Since these plots are primarily located in the urban areas, the auction is expected to fetch a higher price to the development authorities or to the individual land owners, including farmers.

With the Yogi Adityanath government 2.0 netting investment proposals of more than Rs 33.50 trillion from over 19,000 investors at the three-day GIS spanning February 10-12, the state has kicked off a process to materialise these projects at the earliest. To supplement the menu of industrial land, the state will not only allot fresh land but also utilise the expansive plots of defunct government-owned industrial units across 75 districts of UP.

According to an estimate, the government is even mulling to utilise the land of defunct textile mills -- estimated at 1,500 acres -- for fresh allotment. 

For this purpose, the state will first settle all outstanding dues of these units before formally acquiring land for re-allotment.

These defunct mills are located in Meerut, Hardoi, Jhansi, Prayagraj, Banda, Ballia, Mau, Rae Bareli, Barabanki, Amroha, Bareilly, Ghazipur, Fatehpur, Farrukhabad, Sitapur, Bijnor, Sant Kabirnagar, and Bulandshahr districts.

Moreover, the government will acquire swathes near expressways for various industrial projects like toy park, medical devices park, film city, and electronic city.

In UP, land acquisition is undertaken by four industrial enclaves - UP State Industrial Development Authority, Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority.

Meanwhile, the UP government is preparing to host a mega ground-breaking ceremony (GBC) in August 2023 to launch the first batch of projects conceived at the GIS.