New saga of development in Varanasi during Modi govt: CM Yogi Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that "a new saga of development has been written in Varanasi" during the last nine years of the BJP-led central government in the country.

CM Adityanath was in Varanasi on Monday on a day's visit. He addressed the newly elected councilors at the circuit house auditorium here.

During the meeting with the newly elected councilors, the CM gave special instructions to ensure that the problems of the public are resolved on priority. He said that there is a budget of Rs 837 crores for Varanasi in the current financial year.

The CM said, "The Prime Minister represents Kashi, the oldest city in the world. In 2016-17, the budget of the Uttar Pradesh government was Rs 3 lakh crore, which has now been more than doubled to Rs 7 lakh crore. Uttar Pradesh has become a revenue surplus state, there is no shortage of money here".

He further said, "The main objective of the meeting is the cleanliness of the city and the issuance of municipal bonds. The branding of the Municipal Corporation will be done only through cleanliness."

Referring to the revolutionary changes that have taken place in the telecom sector, he said, "With reforms the market grows and a new story of development is written."

He laid special emphasis on construction of new complexes in place of old dilapidated shops in the metropolitan area. The Chief Minister stressed on bringing changes in the housing sector as well, so that the standard of living of the people living in the slums could also be raised.

CM Yogi special emphasis on the participation of private sector in the developmental process as well as making the Municipal Corporation self-reliant.

The Chief Minister also stressed on the need for increasing the budget of the Municipal Corporation from Rs 837 crores to Rs 2,500 crores in the current financial year. He instructed officials to find ways for this. Giving an example, he said that in 2016-17 excise duty of Rs 12,000 crore was received, which has now increased to Rs 52,000 crore.

The Chief Minister added, "The councilors should sit with the citizens, listen to their problems and also take out a cleanliness rally."

Emphasizing on making the city completely plastic-free, he said, "Plastic products should be completely banned."

He directed officials to raise public awareness and enforce the ban strictly. He directed the officials of the Municipal Corporation to ensure that during the regular cleaning of roads and streets in the cities, the garbage is picked up immediately.

"There should be no dumping of garbage in vacant plots. Along with this, cleanliness of the vacant plots should also be ensured", CM Yogi said.

Keeping in mind the need of the next 100 years, the Chief Minister concentrated on making the building of Municipal Corporation Sadan multipurpose. The Chief Minister specially emphasized that new technology should be used for the development of the city.

The Chief Minister also directed to improve the power supply system. "There is no shortage of electricity in the state. Uninterrupted power supply in Varanasi should be ensured in every condition", CM Yogi stated.

Uttar Pradesh's Minister of State for Stamp and Court Registration Fees (Independent Charge) Ravindra Jaiswal, Minister of State for Ayush and Food Security (Independent Charge) Dayashankar Mishra 'Dayalu', District Panchayat President Poonam Maurya, Mayor Ashok Tiwari, former MLC Ashok Dhawan, Minister and MLA Neelkanth Tiwari, Awadhesh Singh and all councilors were present at the meet.