NOIDA: Declaring that Gautam Budh Nagar is “no longer cursed”, chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday said Noida, Greater Noida and the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority have emerged as the country’s leading investment destination, driven by improved governance, faster project execution and a transformed work culture.Inaugurating the Noida Authority headquarters in Sector-96, the CM also inaugurated and laid foundation for 70 development projects worth Rs 2,479 crore, saying the region has evolved from a troubled industrial hub into a global manufacturing and investment centre.Yogi said the Authority getting its own headquarters after 50 years was a landmark achievement and would become a new symbol of development. He said the new office would enable better coordination and help resolve the problems of citizens, farmers, entrepreneurs and industrial associations under one roof.Marking International MSME Day, the chief minister also launched the curtain raiser for the 4th UP International Trade Show and distributed toolkits to beneficiaries of the One District One Product (ODOP) and Vishwakarma Shram Samman Yojana.He also distributed subsidy cheques to MSME units and beneficiaries of the technical upgradation scheme and Mukhyamantri Yuva Udyami Vikas Abhiyan, besides honouring bankers for their performance.Recalling the long-held belief that visiting Noida brought bad luck to chief ministers, Yogi said previous CMs avoided the district because of the superstition. He said when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was to inaugurate the Noida Metro, the PMO suggested sending another minister instead.“I replied that I would come myself because I do not believe in such things. The government’s responsibility is to solve people’s problems,” he said.Yogi said one of the biggest challenges before his government after 2017 was resolving the builder-buyer dispute. Within a year, housing was provided to around 1.25 lakh homebuyers.Later, after the Supreme Court constituted a high-level committee headed by the CEO of NITI Aayog, the government helped more than three lakh buyers get their homes.He said the Authority’s new headquarters should become a model of efficient governance by taking all services online and integrating them with an Integrated Command and Control Centre.Directing officials to accel erate industrial development, Yogi asked them to issue deadline-based notices to allottees who had acquired Authority land but failed to invest. If investment was still not made, the land should be reallocated to new investors to create a fresh land bank.Highlighting UP’s transformation, the chief minister said he landed at Jewar Airport, where domestic commercial flights have started and international services will begin soon. He said projects worth Rs 7,000 crore in electronic components and Rs 8,200 crore in solar cell manufacturing would make Gautam Buddha Nagar a major hub for electronics and solar manufacturing.Contrasting the present with the past, Yogi said the region, once considered unsafe, is now witnessing projects such as Film City, Apparel Park, Medical Device Park and large industrial investments because of the “double-engine govt” led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Calling MSMEs the backbone of industrial growth, Yogi said the vision of a developed India rests on prosperous farmers, world-class infrastructure and strong manufacturing. He said the government transformed One District One Product into a nationally recognised brand by connecting artisans with branding, technology, design innovation and markets.He said UP now has over 96 lakh MSME units providing employment to more than 3.25 crore people. During COVID-19, the government ensured food, ration and jobs for returning migrant workers, while MSMEs absorbed a majority of them.Yogi added that the govt has strengthened MSMEs through technology, design support and common facility centres, enabling Uttar Pradesh’s exports to cross Rs 2 lakh crore.
