UP clears base map for six-district State Capital Region around Lucknow

The Uttar Pradesh State Capital Region (UPSCR) development plan has moved a step closer to implementation after the review committee approved the region’s base map covering six districts.

The approval was given on Tuesday at a meeting chaired by divisional commissioner Vijay Vishwas Pant at the Lucknow Development Authority office. The proposal will now be sent to the UPSCR executive committee for final approval.

The State Capital Region comprises Lucknow, Sitapur, Unnao, Hardoi, Barabanki and Rae Bareli and covers 26,741 sq km.

A GIS-based regional master plan is being prepared for the area, with 30 projects identified across transportation, mobility, infrastructure, tourism and economic development.

The identified projects include a state capital regional road, an elevated peripheral road, road-upgradation works, a transport nagar, an orbital rail corridor and a Metro network.

The regional plan also includes industrial development projects, logistics parks, food parks and corridor-oriented development along the Lucknow-Kanpur Expressway.

LDA vice-chairman Prathamesh Kumar said the base map had been examined by 22 government institutions before being placed before the review committee.

The institutions included development authorities, the revenue department, Public Works Department, Railways, forest department, municipal corporation, irrigation department and urban and regional planning agencies.

Officials also carried out ground verification at 2,239 locations across the six districts to validate information obtained from satellite imagery and existing maps.

The base map was circulated to all 22 institutions and their consent was obtained before it was presented to the review committee.

The approval is an important planning-stage milestone for the larger State Capital Region initiative. However, the 30 identified projects remain part of the regional development plan and should not be treated as individually sanctioned projects.

The UPSCR executive committee will now consider the approved base map. Once final approval is granted, work on preparing and implementing the Regional Plan can move ahead.

The regional planning exercise is intended to coordinate transport, infrastructure, economic activity and urban growth across Lucknow and the five surrounding districts rather than planning each area separately.