The Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh is speeding up the industrial develpment across the Bundelkhand region.
Bundelkhand is among the most socioeconomically laggard region in UP owing to it being an arid zone, forcing the migration of people to other states in search of jobs.
However, the Yogi government has set up a mega Bundelkhand Industrial Development Authority (BIDA) to turnaround the region from an economically laggard state to a growing region.
In this regard, the state government has already approved to acquire nearly 56,600 acres for industrial development in Bundelkhand.
So far, about 22,000 acres or nearly 40 percent of the identified swathes spanning 56,662 acres have been acquired by BIDA, which has its largest base in the Jhansi district.
The Yogi government is looking to propel BIDA as an investment magnet on the lines of Noida.
Recently, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath directed officials for the development of an airport, expressway, railway station, IT Park and a multimodal logistics park in BIDA.
The government will also urge the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for extending the Agra–Gwalior Greenfield Expressway to Jhansi.
The state is also seeking for the development of a Delhi–Nagpur Industrial Corridor node in BIDA to align with the national industrial network.
Meanwhile, the BIDA Master Plan 2045 has received the Board approval. Under the plan, 253 sq km of land has been designated for specific uses viz. industrial (35.8 percent), residential (15.2 percent), mixed-use (5.1 percent), commercial (1.5 percent), green space (10.6 percent) etc.
Jhansi is also among the six nodes of the flagship UP Defence Industrial Corridor (UPDIC). The other five nodes are Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Aligarh and Chitrakoot districts.