Upgraded & expanded municipalities: UP CM Yogi Adityanath

LUCKNOW: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday asserted the process of urbanisation revealed importance in last 4.5 years, driving his government to implement various key Central schemes meant for urban poor.
Speaking at inauguration of three-day ‘Azadi@75 – New Urban India: Transforming Urban Landscape’ Conference-cum-Expo’, Yogi said, the number of urban local bodies (ULBs) too increased from 654 to 734 with municipalities undergoing expansion and upgradation.
This was brought into effect after state government approved gram panchayats with population of more than 25,000 as nagar panchayats. “Our government has tried our best to usher improvement in living standards of people in the state,” he said at the inaugural session of the event, which was attended by PM Modi, Rajnath Singh and Hardeep Singh Puri, besides a host of UP ministers and urban development ministers from 12 other states.
The CM said, the UP government has been putting forth its achievements before the nation. “As the country’s most populous state, we have been trying to provide basic amenities,” he said, pointing to expedited implementation of various schemes like Swachh Bharat Mission.
Yogi said, 652 urban local bodies have been made open defecation free .
Likewise, the state government ensured rural and urban poor do not get mere “token money”, but the “requisite money” for construction of houses, he said. Yogi said, his government was also lending a much-needed boost to the ‘Light House Scheme’, where pre-constructed walls and roofs get assembled, expediting construction of such houses in Lucknow.
The scheme is being implemented in six locations across the country. He said projects of Rs 11,421 crore for drinking water, sewer and construction of parks have been implemented in 60 ULBs under AMRUT scheme.