Seventeen years after a plan to develop an Information Technology (IT) park in the City of Taj was made, the project may finally take off. Now, the Yogi Adityanath-led government in Uttar Pradesh is working towards establishment of IT parks and start-up incubators in major cities such as Agra, Meerut and Gorakhpur. The Agra Development Authority (ADA) has reserved five acres of land for this purpose. The latest development assumes significance as there is a Supreme Court ban on polluting industries in the Taj Trapezium eco-sensitive zone. If the project takes shape as planned, it will not only create job opportunities for local youths but also create avenues for development of ancillary industries and self-employment.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, while going through the presentations of the Information and Technology Department in April, stressed the need for job creation. He directed officials concerned that efforts should to be made to set up information technology parks and startup incubators to ensure job opportunities for youngsters and create infrastructure for self-employment in the next five years. Sources said plans are on to invite IT companies to set up offices and develop infrastructure in the state.
The Chief Minister has already approved a new industrial policy to promote industries in the state, including in backward Purvanchal and Bundelkhand regions. It aims at simplifying the procedure for creation of infrastructure, give time-bound approvals with special focus on IT start-ups, electronics, agriculture and food processing, dairy, handloom, tourism, among others.
According to sources, during Rajnath Singh tenure as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from October 2000 to March 2002, the then Cabinet Minister Mahendra Aridaman Singh worked for development of an IT Park in Agra. For this purpose, a plot of land was identified at Shastripuram, but Rajnath Singh’s government lost power before the project could be implemented. Following this, Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) government later approved a five-acre plot for development of a software park in Agra. The BSP government carried out the initial planning in this regard but no work took place on the ground. Later, the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party (SP) government also raised the issue of developing Agra as an IT hub but nothing concrete was done to give shape to the plan.
A senior official of the rank of joint secretary said, “The state government is working on a scheme to develop information technology parks in Agra, Meerut and Gorakhpur.”
Chief engineer of Agra Development Authority Shivraj Singh said, “The role of ADA is to provide land and ensure basic amenities in the area. IT companies will have to develop infrastructure in their own capacity. We have sufficient land which has been set aside for the purpose. A two-acre plot has already been provided to UPTRON India Limited. On the directive of the state government, ADA will ensure easy availability of land for all IT companies.”
Source: Times of India
