LUCKNOW Six Uttar Pradesh cities — Agra, Ayodhya, Lucknow, Mathura-Vrindavan, Prayagraj and Varanasi — have been chosen underneath the Centre’s Pragati-50 initiative, which goals to develop 50 cities throughout the nation as fashions of cleanliness, fashionable civic infrastructure and sustainable city growth.

The announcement was made throughout a digital assembly of state city growth ministers chaired by Union housing and concrete affairs minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Tuesday. UP city growth and vitality minister AK Sharma participated within the assembly and sought the inclusion of Kanpur, describing it as a serious industrial and historic metropolis.
The initiative comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed the Union city affairs ministry and states to determine 50 cities and display complete cleanliness and waste-management outcomes. In a Could PRAGATI overview, the PM referred to as for the chosen cities to realize full cleanliness, together with processing of stable and liquid waste, with Centre-state collaboration.
Underneath Pragati-50, the chosen cities are anticipated to obtain centered consideration on 24×7 mechanised cleansing, scientific solid-waste administration, used-water administration, inexperienced mobility, photo voltaic vitality and fashionable civic facilities.
Khattar mentioned UP has the best variety of cities —six — among the many states chosen for the initiative. The main target, he mentioned, can be on expediting sanitation and waste-management tasks by way of coordinated efforts by the Centre and state governments.
Sharma welcomed the choice of the six UP cities however pressed for Kanpur to be added to the listing. He argued that its industrial significance and historic significance made it an appropriate candidate for growth underneath the initiative.
He mentioned the programme may notably profit the state’s main non secular and vacationer locations. Growing Ayodhya, Varanasi, Mathura-Vrindavan and Prayagraj, alongside Agra and Lucknow, with fashionable civic infrastructure may enhance services for pilgrims and vacationers and strengthen their worldwide profile, he mentioned.