In a sharp attack on Akhilesh Yadav, Uttar Pradesh Minister OP Rajbhar on Saturday alleged large-scale corruption in the construction of the Lucknow-Agra Expressway during the previous Samajwadi Party-led government.
Taking to X, Rajbhar claimed that the expressway became a symbol of corruption and mismanagement.
“If one wants to see some examples of the corruption that took place during Shri @yadavakhilesh ji’s government, the biggest example is the Lucknow-Agra Expressway,” he wrote.
Rajbhar said that the alleged corruption had serious consequences for safety and public welfare.
“The greed to make money through corruption twisted and turned this expressway up and down so much that it has become notorious as the ‘Accident Expressway,’ and many people even call it the ‘Expressway of Death’,” he wrote.
Further, he claimed that poor construction standards were followed during the construction of the expressway.
“In the haste to make quick money, the expressway was built ignoring all standards. Who knows how many lives have been lost so far. How many families have been shattered. It’s hard to count,” he added.
Rajbhar has even raised serious questions over alleged irregularities in land acquisition and alignment of the project.
“Who doesn’t know that during Akhilesh Yadav’s rule, the Saifai family and their close associates colluded to loot public money in the construction of the Agra-Lucknow Expressway? From Firozabad to Etawah, the tales of plunder are overflowing,” he wrote.
He added, “Land was bought at throwaway prices. Then the expressway route was passed nearby. The route was bent. Records were altered to label the lands as residential. Many registrations happened after the expressway was announced. Then massive looting took place in the compensation. When the expressway route came through, the value of lands owned by the Saifai family and their favorites skyrocketed.”
Claiming major changes in the expressway design, Rajbhar said that it was “hard to find examples where an expressway was bent all the way to someone’s doorstep for personal gain.”
“Because of this, the length of the expressway increased from 270 km to more than 300 kilometers,” he added.
Rajbhar said that even today “every person passing through the Agra-Lucknow Expressway has to pay its price. Due to the extra delay and distance, there’s loss of money, fuel, and time—all three.”