Mumbai: The Uttar Pradesh government has transferred the administrative control of the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPDA) from the Industrial Development Department to the Infrastructure and Industrial Development Department, which is directly overseen by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The move effectively shifts all key decisions related to expressway and major infrastructure projects to the Chief Minister’s Office. Official memorandum detailsAccording to an office memorandum issued by the Secretariat Administration Section-I, the decision was taken to remove administrative anomalies, eliminate contradictions in the allocation of work and simplify the decision-making process. The order has come into immediate effect.With the change, all proposals, project approvals, budget-related files and other matters concerning UPDA will now be processed through the Infrastructure Development Department instead of the Industrial Development Department. The move also takes away the administrative control of expressway projects from Industrial Development Minister Nand Gopal Gupta ‘Nandi’.
Government rationale
The state government said the restructuring is aimed at streamlining the functioning of UPDA, which is responsible for developing expressways, industrial corridors and other major infrastructure projects. Officials believe placing the authority under the Infrastructure Development Department will end parallel decision-making and accelerate approvals for large projects.
The administrative reshuffle triggered a sharp political reaction from Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, who mocked the decision and accused the BJP government of corruption.In a post on X, Yadav said, “He has only been partially removed. If he is denied an Assembly ticket, he will be completely sidelined. What is the point of removing him now after all the ‘substandard expressways’ have already been built and the target of mutual corruption has been achieved?”The BJP has not yet responded to Yadav’s allegations.