At a meeting to review the progress of national highway projects here, the Chief Minister also said on Monday that departmental land will be provided free of charge for the expansion of national highways in Uttar Pradesh.

The Chief Minister assured the Central government that any issues in the implementation of national highways in the state would be resolved in a timely manner and the process of land acquisition and compensation distribution would be completed within the stipulated time.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath also placed a list of requirements related to national highways in the state before Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari.

According to the statement, CM Adityanath underlined that the expansion of national highways will not stop in the state.

He told the meeting that in 2017, the state had a total of 48 national highways spanning 8,364 km. By 2024, the number increased to 93 and the length grew to 12,733 km.

He, however, pointed out that in terms of population, this is still below the national average of 11.77 km per lakh population. To bring it up to the national average, an additional 11,500 km of national highways will need to be constructed, he said.

CM Adityanath also emphasised the need to complete projects related to the Mahakumbh, which will be held in 2025, including the Prayagraj Ring Road, by December 2024.

He said Varanasi, Mathura and Ayodhya are the main tourist attractions in the state where the number of tourists and pilgrims is steadily increasing.

He emphasised the need to complete the remaining work on the Varanasi Ring Road (Ganga Bridge) and to open the ring road for traffic as soon as possible.

The Chief Minister highlighted the importance of declaring the 'Braj 84 Kosi Parikrama' route a national highway and called for strengthening the Ayodhya bypass, the statement said.

He said the construction of ring roads in 13 of the 18 divisions of the state is either underway or has been completed.

It is also necessary to build ring roads in the remaining five divisions - Aligarh, Devipatan, Jhansi, Mirzapur and Saharanpur.