Defence Minister reviews progress of MoUs signed with UP Defence Industrial Corridor

LUCKNOW: Defence Minister  Rajnath Singh on Monday  reviewed the progress on implementation of the MoUs signed with Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor through video conferencing.

All the proposed work for the Defence Industrial Corridor should be completed within the stipulated time, he said, adding that whatever targets have been set, have to be achieved under any circumstances.

Mr Singh  said that a Cabinet note on the new policy of the Defence Production Department is ready and shall be released in September. He said that the state government should maintain regular contact with investors and take prompt action on their issues.

He has also asked to speed up the work of land acquisition in Lucknow and Agra.

Giving details of the progress made on UP Defence Industrial Corridor, Chief Secretary Rajendra Kumar Tiwari said that six nodes have been developed in Aligarh, Agra, Jhansi, Chitrakoot, Kanpur and Lucknow. Mr Tiwari said that the state government has assigned 1461.0579 hectare land for the purpose, of which 1310.2532 hectare land has been acquired, which is over 90 per cent of the assigned land.

Mr  Tiwari said 1025.4672 hectares of land has been acquired in Jhansi, 95.9340 hectares in Chitrakoot, 47.8440 hectares in Aligarh and 141.0080 hectares in Kanpur has been acquired. In Agra land outside TTZ is being explored, while in Lucknow the land around Ring Road is being considered. He also assured the minister to expedite the work.

Chief Secretary said so far investments worth Rs 3732 crores have been announced in the state. Sharing details of the investments, he said Ordinance will invest Rs 1077 crores, HAL Rs 1200 crores, BEL Rs 240 crores, PTC industries Rs 115 crores, Bharat Forge Rs 200 crores and MKU has announced an investment of Rs 900 crores. He further said that work on Ordinance, HAL, BEL, PTC and MKU projects have already started.

The CS informed that under Aligarh node, complete planning of DPR, town planning, power station etc. has been done. He assured that the instructions given by the Defence Minister will be followed in letter and spirit and all the targets will be completed within the deadline.

Additional Chief Secretary, UPEIDA Awanish Kumar Awasthi said that after the announcement of establishment of Defence Industrial Corridor in February 2018, work has been done in the state at a rapid pace.

The Defence and Aerospace Manufacturing Employment Promotion Policy, 2018 has been promulgated and 1310.2532 hectares of land has been acquired for the corridor.

M/s Titan Aviation and Aerospace India Limited will invest more than Rs 36,000 crore in Jhansi, for which DPR has been submitted. He also informed that so far 32 MoUs have also been signed. Apart from this, investment proposals from Korea and Ukraine have also been received.

Senior officers of the Ministry of Defence, Additional Chief Secretary Industrial Department Alok Kumar and officers from other departments were also present in the video conferencing. (AGENCIES)