UP Cabinet approves various proposals on growth of cities and people

LUCKNOW: The cabinet of Government of Uttar Pradesh on August 2, provided a major boost for development in Ayodhya and Varanasi. The cabinet gave a green signal to a proposal to spend Rs 797.69 crore on construction and widening of a main road in Ayodhya that will provide easy access to devotees and tourists to the Ram Temple, which is in the process of getting built.

Under the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir Road Widening Project, a stretch of 12.94 km long road from Sahadatganj Nayaghat as the main spine road is to be constructed and widened, for which the cost of land and building acquisition will be Rs 378.77 crore. In addition, the state has developed a project for rehabilitation and compensation to shopkeepers and residents. The Public Works Department will execute the project after completion of the work of acquisition of land and buildings.

In a bid to implement ease of doing business, the state cabinet took major decision of clearing UP Shops and Commercial Establishments (Ninth Amendment) Rules, 2022. This allows the shops and establishments to register only once, without the need for renewal of licenses. However, the registration fees for them has increased manifold. The new law states that the registration fee will be levied on maximum number of employees in commercial establishments registering during the financial year. For instance, for commercial establishments employing more than 25 persons, the registration fees will be Rs 30,000, which is up from Rs 2000 charged earlier.

The Cabinet also gave green signal to new rules on the safety and security of factory workers of state. Under these laws, making an employee work for more than 48 hours in a week will require the employer to give double payment for every additional hour. It also states that women can be employed as long as all rules are followed and including the rest hours, an employee/worker cannot be asked to work for more than 12 hours in a day.

Additionally, the Cabinet approved 11 proposals for expansion of existing local bodies and creation of a new nagar panchayat. In another decision in relation to the urban development, the Cabinet approved a plan of spending Rs 550 crore on new local bodies, as was proposed in the budget. Under the newly introduced Mukhya Mantri Nagar Srijan Yojna, 90 per cent of the funds will be spent on people and 10 per cent on the people. A K Sharma, Minister of Urban Development, Government of Uttar Pradesh, said that a masterplan will be developed for spending of funds and various activities to be undertaken.