UP govt identifies 5,125 hectare land for Bundelkhand Defence Corridor

1,100 manufacturing units in UP will be aligned with the proposed corridor

The Uttar Pradesh government has identified about 5,125 hectares of land for the development of the proposed Bundelkhand Defence Corridor.

Land swathes across Aligarh, Agra, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow, and Chitrakoot comprise the six nodes of the proposed corridor, aimed at bolstering UP amongst the top defence manufacturing states in India.

Earlier, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had directed officials to expedite the consolidation of the land bank, so that it could be allocated to the private defence manufacturers.

There are about 1,100 manufacturing units in UP, which would be divided among the six nodes for defence production once the corridor becomes functional. According to state chief secretary Anup Chandra Pandey, the groundwork is likely to be completed by December 2018.

The state government has also decided to allot land to public sector Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) near the Agra-Lucknow Expressway. BEL is engaged in advanced aerospace and defence production for the Indian armed forces.

Besides, the state would create an ecosystem to train workers for the defence production units.

The Adityanath government has also sanctioned Rs 150 million each to the two knowledge partners of the Defence Corridor project viz. Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT-K) and IIT-Banaras Hindu University (IIT-BHU).

Reviewing the mega project here on Tuesday evening, Adityanath said the corridor would boost the socioeconomic milieu of the Bundelkhand region. "Different ordinance factories in UP were also being expanded," he said.

UP additional chief secretary Awanish Awasthi said the state would soon form a special purpose vehicle (SPV) for the Corridor project and the land would be allocated to selected manufacturers in phases. The state has already started its exercise to attract private investors with knowledge workshops, exhibitions and other engagements at different places.

Concurrently, Adityanath has directed officials to expedite the proposed Bundelkhand Expressway project and to present the detailed project report (DPR) by November 30. The land for the project would be made available to the selected concessionaire under public-private partnership (PPP) mode.

Bundelkhand Defence Corridor was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after inaugurating the UP Investors Summit 2018 on February 21 in Lucknow. Another Defence Corridor is coming up in Tamil Nadu, which is also progressing well in showcasing the project to the private manufacturers.

Earlier, the Centre had announced to invest nearly Rs 30 billion in the proposed Bundelkhand Defence Corridor. The central investment will be made towards creating necessary infrastructure such as ammunition blast testing centre to facilitate ‘plug and play’ model by the private companies in setting up their facilities. 

In recent months, the state government had organised events in Jhansi and Aligarh to engage with the private sector about the Corridor and encouraging them to set up production facilities.