Lucknow, March 18 Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Wednesday that the state has witnessed significant transformation across sectors over the past nine years, with agriculture, infrastructure, education, and welfare seeing major gains.
Addressing a programme at Lok Bhavan after releasing the book 'Nav Nirman Ke 9 Varsh', he said, "The government's very first decision was taken in the interest of farmers. Uttar Pradesh's agricultural growth rate has risen from 8.5% to 18%. UP is now the fastest-growing state in agricultural development in the country."
Targeting previous governments, he said, "The Congress and the SP-BSP governments had pushed farmers into debt, whereas the double-engine government has freed them and restored them as productive contributors."
He said sugarcane payments rose to Rs 3,16,800 crore in the last nine years, while MSP procurement has expanded and mandi fee has been reduced to one per cent. About Rs 99,000 crore has been transferred to farmers under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, he added, according to a press statement.
Highlighting infrastructure, Adityanath said 55 per cent of the country's expressways are in UP, rising to 60 per cent after completion of the Ganga Expressway.
The chief minister said UP has emerged as a major investment destination, with projects worth Rs 15 lakh crore grounded and Rs 6 lakh crore in the pipeline, backed by a "zero tolerance" policy towards crime and corruption.
On education, he said reforms under Operation Kayakalp have improved infrastructure in over 1.36 lakh schools, with the dropout rate now at zero. He also announced a new lodging and food scheme for Sanskrit students.
Highlighting women's welfare, Adityanath said over 1.75 lakh women have secured government jobs, while five lakh marriages have been conducted under the Mukhyamantri Samuhik Vivah Yojana.
"The transformation witnessed in the state is the result of the policies of the double-engine government and the support of the people," he said.