LUCKNOW: In encouraging news for families in search of budget-friendly housing, more than a dozen greenfield townships are set to launch ahead of the festive season across major cities in Uttar Pradesh. Following a meeting with housing development authorities, the state government has instructed vice-chairmen to speed up the land aggregation process to roll out the housing scheme before Diwali.
Plans are in place to launch schemes in seven cities by September, while the remaining 11 will be inaugurated before Diwali. Among the cities poised for new townships are Aligarh, Meerut, Jhansi, Mathura, Agra, Moradabad, Kanpur, Firozabad, Bulandshahr, Banda, Ayodhya, Rampur, and Saharanpur.
A budget of Rs 400 crore, Rs 306 crore, and Rs 292 crore has been designated for establishing townships in Moradabad, Saharanpur, and Rampur, respectively. In total, over Rs 6,000 crore has been allocated for 30 schemes under the chief minister’s new township initiative.
In April 2023, the Yogi Adityanath government introduced the new township scheme to encourage the development of residential housing. A minimum land area of 12.5 acres must be developed, with the state covering 50% of the land acquisition costs, to be reimbursed over 20 years. Principal Secretary of the Housing Department, P Guruprasad, conducted a review meeting on Monday to assess the status of the townships.
