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UP gives nod to acquire landfor township in Gorakhpur

UP gives nod to acquire landfor township in Gorakhpur

Time of India16-07-2025
Lucknow: Clearing the final roadblock, the housing department has given its go-ahead to the Gorakhpur Development Authority to initiate the land acquisition exercise to set up a new township in the prime city of eastern UP.
The plan is to acquire a total of 252 hectares to set up a greenfield township (New Gorakhpur Scheme) that would cater to the growing housing needs of the local population. The authority would enlist independent experts to prepare a social impact assessment report to ascertain how many families would be affected by the project.
According to the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013, instituting a social impact assessment study is crucial to understanding the estimated cost and benefits to the families affected by the acquisition.
Planned over a 622-acre area, the township would span Gorakhpur Sadar and Chauri Chaura sub-divisions. As per a preliminary survey, three villages, including Koni, Takiya Medinipur, and Madapar, among others, are involved.
Principal secretary of the housing department, P Guruprasad, issued directives to the district magistrate of Gorakhpur to prepare the preliminary outline for the land acquisition process.
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The Yogi Adityanath govt in April 2023 introduced a new township policy to address the housing needs of the state. The level of urbanisation in UP, being 23.50%, is on the lower side compared to the national average, which is over 31%. The state govt has agreed to provide the seed fund or the initial capital to the concerned development authority to cover the initial cost required to acquire and float the scheme.
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