Yogi Adityanath's key decisions: Airport in Lakhimpur, compensation for farmers whose land was taken for Jewar airport

After the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) unexpected defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath convened a crucial meeting with all his ministers today. The meeting culminated in the approval of 41 key proposals, addressing a range of sectors from infrastructure development to education reform.

Airport and Compensation Initiatives

Among the notable approvals, the proposal to construct a new airport in Lakhimpur received a green light.  Additionally, the Cabinet sanctioned funds to compensate farmers whose lands were acquired for the Jewar airport project in Noida. 

Education Sector Reforms

The Cabinet also passed a significant proposal to remove the word "State" from the names of state universities. Furthermore, the approval of Letters of Intent for two new private universities – Future University in Bareilly and HRIT University in Ghaziabad was given.

Mahakumbh 2025 Preparations

The preparations for Mahakumbh 2025 were another major focus of the meeting. The proposal to expand the fair area from 3,200 hectares to 4,000 hectares and to extend the scope of the ghats was approved. 

Infrastructure and Energy Sector Approvals

The Cabinet approved a proposal to procure 79,000 logs from the Forest Department for 236 crore for the Kumbh. 

In the energy sector, a proposal to secure a loan of 1,000 crore at an interest rate of 9.5% from HUDCO for the Electricity Department was sanctioned. 

Transfer Policy and Other Approvals

The Cabinet approved the transfer policy for the year 2024-25, enabling smoother administrative operations and addressing personnel management needs within the government.

The meeting also saw the approval of increased costs for two power plants in Obra. The cost has risen from 11,705 crore to 13,005 crore, reflecting the growing investment required for the completion of these critical energy projects. Additionally, the proposal to increase the cost of the transmission substation in Rasra, Ballia, to 537 crore was approved.

Healthcare and Research Developments

In healthcare and research, approval was given to establish a Medical Research Center and a 500-bed super-specialty hospital at IIT Kanpur. 

This comes after the INDIA bloc, led by Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, has significantly impacted the BJP-led NDA's goal of winning '400 seats' in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

In the last general elections of 2014 and 2019, the BJP won 71 and 62 seats respectively. However, this time, they secured only 33 seats. Meanwhile, the Samajwadi Party won 37 seats, and Congress secured six seats.

Additionally, Yogi Adityanath announced that the 'Janta Darshan' program, paused for two months due to the election model code of conduct, will resume from Thursday in UP.