Greater Noida: After missing several deadlines, the Yamuna Expressway is finally set to open around June 15. The state government has asked Jaypee Group to complete work on the e-way by May 31 after which UP chief minister Akhilesh Yadav will inaugurate it. Recently, a meeting was held between the Jaypee group top brass and the UP government in which pending work was discussed and a deadline set to give final touches to the expressway by May 31.

A full bench of the Allahabad High Court on Monday upheld its judgement quashing land acquisition in some villages of Gautam Buddh Nagar district in Uttar Pradesh for development of Noida, Greater Noida and Noida Extension and ordered greater compensation for landowners.

The bench comprising justices Ashok Bhushan, S.U. Khan and V.K. Shukla passed the order while turning down review petitions of Noida Authority and Greater Noida Authority and a number of farmers who were dissatisfied with the judgement delivered by a three-judge bench on October 21, 2011.

Uttar Pradesh PWD and Irrigation minister Shivpal Yadav has issued directives to clear the Yamuna floodplain land in Gautam Budh Nagar. The vast tract of land is owned by the state’s Irrigation department and has allegedly been gobbled up by land sharks. Several farm houses have come up in the ecologically-sensitive Yamuna catchment area.

One of the pet projects of Mulayam Singh as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, five years earlier, was the 7,480-Mw Dadri power project. It was also Reliance Power promoter Anil Ambani's dream project, but for some time now, the project has fallen off the radar of the developer.

Dadri got its initial blessing from Singh in 2003. Later, it ran into a number of troubles. The most significant one being fuel supply. The size of the project was expanded to 3,500 Mw on paper, though. Not much could move on the ground, as gas was supposed to be supplied from the Krishna-Godavari block operated by Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries.

The best developed district in Uttar Pradesh is six times more so than the worst, state government figures indicate. Districts in western UP, closest to Delhi, far outpace those in other regions, not just those in Bundelkhand, according to the department’s Niyojan Atlas, which considers 36 indicators. The atlas is published every year but it is so delayed that the latest available edition is that for 2008. It gives Gautam Buddh Nagar (Noida) a composite development index of 431.44, against which even western UP neighbours like Ghaziabad (170.52) and Meerut (147.72) pale in comparison.

After the high court dismissed the petitions against the dumping ground, the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) has started construction of the solid waste management plant on the 14-acre land at Dundahera village opposite Exotica Apartments in Ghaziabad bordering Gautam Budhh Nagar.
The Crossing Republik Owners and Members Association (CROMA) has decided to move the Supreme Court.

Days after Chief Minister Mayawati wrote to the Prime Minister, saying Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh had a political motive in seeking a CBI inquiry into the alleged fraud in the MGNREGS in seven districts of UP, her Rural Development Minister Daddu Prasad has now written directly to Ramesh, blaming his ministry for stalling important initiatives by not responding to the state government’s requests.

In a setback to the Mayawati government and thousands of apartment buyers, the Allahabad High Court on Friday set aside acquisition of land in three villages of Noida, Greater Noida and Noida Extension areas while ordering enhanced compensation to farmers of some other villages in Gautam Budh Nagar district.

On BSP founder Kanshiram’s fifth death anniversary, Chief Minister Mayawati unveiled 484 development projects worth Rs 6,035 crore at a programme organised at Kanshiram Smarak Sthal on VIP road today.

Mayawati reached Kanshiram memorial around 10.30 am. She lit candles near the bronze statue of Kanshiram, erected along with her own statue, inside the building and then offered a floral tribute. She also offered gifts to Buddhist monks who performed the rituals for Kanshiram’s death anniversary.