Lucknow: To address economic disparity in Purvanchal, chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday met World Bank officials to discuss the rollout of a Rs 2,500-crore, five-year project.Targeting 28 districts in the region, with plans to expand investment, employment and entrepreneurship beyond agriculture, the CM discussed the proposed Uttar Pradesh Enabling District-Led Economic Growth (UP-EDGE) project with World Bank officials.Preliminary Project Report is proposed to be sent to govt of India, and seven districts of Bundelkhand may also be included in the project.Purvanchal accounts for around 40% of UP’s population but contributes Rs 7.07 lakh crore, or about 27.6%, to the state’s GDP. In contrast, the 30-district Western region accounted for Rs 12.43 lakh crore, or 48.5%, of the state’s GSDP.Purvanchal’s per capita income is around 45% below the state average, while nearly 80% of the workforce is engaged in agriculture.The project proposes district-specific economic plans based on local resources and potential, with greater emphasis on manufacturing and services. Agro-processing, tourism, healthcare, education, e-commerce, data centres and Digital Districts have been identified as potential growth areas.The govt also plans to strengthen the One District One Product ecosystem by improving product design and packaging to meet global market requirements.Around 10,000 polyhouses are proposed, along with measures to promote agricultural processing.The project also envisages the development of around one lakh new enterprises and greater participation of women entrepreneurs.Skill development in Varanasi, Gorakhpur and Prayagraj, along with opportunities in Medicities and health tourism, are also part of the proposal.Yogi said investment plans should be prepared district-wise, keeping local requirements, available resources and economic opportunities in view. He also stressed increasing the role of manufacturing and services in Purvanchal’s development.The proposed district-led approach comes against a backdrop of uneven economic development within the state, as flagged in a recent assessment by the 16th Finance Commission.The report noted relatively weaker socio-economic indicators in eastern UP and the need for region-specific interventions.It noted that the central and eastern regions of UP have relatively high poverty levels and weaker socio-economic indicators. It pointed out that 35 of the 253 districts covered nationally under the Backward Regions Grant Fund were in UP, of which 20 were in the eastern part of the state.The study also noted that 28 districts in UP have been identified as particularly backward in agriculture, highlighting the need to improve productivity and infrastructure to address unemployment and low farm productivity.
