NOIDA: A day after he inaugurated the state’s and north India’s first big data centre in Greater Noida, chief minister Yogi Adityanath described the Noida region (Gautam Budh Nagar) as “India’s No 1 destination for investment” while inaugurating various development projects on Tuesday. “Everyone who wants to invest is coming to Uttar Pradesh today,” the CM said, lashing out at the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party regime that was in office from 2012-17 on the state of law and order. “Five and a half years ago, this area was in the grip of the mafia who exploited farmers and youths and misused the (development )authorities’ money,” the CM said at a public rally in Greater Noida to inaugurate infrastructure projects collectively worth Rs 1,670 crore. He said the Noida region – which is poised to carve its space on the aviation map when the new international airport in Jewar opens, likely in October 2024 – was benefitting from “healthy competition” between the three development authorities (Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway) in terms of creating jobs and attracting investments. “Everyone now says if you want to invest in industries, then you have to do it in Uttar Pradesh. In UP, the best destination is Gautam Budh Nagar. The sparkling, wide and clean roads present a new picture. Earlier, we used to see investment only in IT and ITeS, but now, multi-modal transport and logistics hubs are also growing at a fast pace,” Adityanath said. “Asia’s largest airport is being built in Jewar, which was once known as a crime hub. Film City, medical device park and many more projects are in the pipeline,” he added. The CM also took a swipe at Akhilesh over his apparent belief in the Noida jinx (the belief that visiting the city is bad luck for a sitting CM), which kept the Samajwadi leader away during his tenure. “Five and a half years ago, this area was considered cursed for the CM. Mafia used to dominate here and industrial units used to migrate from here. News that frequently came from here was that so and so company has migrated to another place. (Now), due to the teamwork of public representatives, police and administration, we have started to deliver results,” Adityanath said. The Noda jinx rode decades of electoral reversals for sitting CMs, a trend Adityanath broke this year by becoming the first CM to return to office since Congress’ ND Tiwari in 1985. He never cared for the jinx in his first term either, making several trips to Noida for rallies, inaugurations and Covid management meetings. Referring to the Yotta data centre he inaugurated, the CM said this would not have been possible during the previous regime’s tenure. “The weakness was not of the authorities, but of the leadership. They themselves were immersed in dishonesty. No one was safe here, so how could anyone invest their capital here?” he said. “Today, organised crime has disappeared from UP and criminals are rotting in jails,” the CM added.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/noida/noida-top-business-place-says-cm-yogi-adityanath-slams-pre-17-weak-leadership/articleshow/95241368.cms