Lucknow: Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday morning flagged off 250 environment-friendly electric and CNG vehicles operated on green energy to strengthen waste management by the Lucknow Municipal
Corporation.
On this occasion, Chief Minister Yogi launched a sharp attack on the opposition, saying that when the people of Uttar Pradesh removed “political garbage” and laid the foundation for change, it resulted in successful cleanliness initiatives under the double-engine government, leading to a significant improvement in rankings.
He said that before 2017, the ruling parties in the state preferred darkness, whereas “we are worshippers of the Sun and are promoting development in Lakshmanpuri, named after Lakshman, the brother of Rama from the Suryavanshi lineage.”
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, “In nine years of reconstruction, Lucknow has now become one of the top three cleanest cities in the country.”
The government is now moving toward a “net-zero” goal, where carbon emissions will be minimal and a pollution-free system will be developed. Promoting electric vehicles is an important step in this direction and will lay the foundation for a clean and green future.
Inspired by Narendra Modi, the government introduced major reforms in street lighting in 2017. Earlier, halogen lights were used, which consumed more energy, looked dull and attracted insects, making it difficult even to stand under them.
He said previous governments found such arrangements convenient because they did not intend to supply electricity properly. “Those who were used to looting found darkness suitable.”
However, the current government ensured 24-hour electricity without discrimination and modernized the city’s lighting system by installing LED lights, creating a bright “milky white” illumination across the city and ending the culture of darkness.
Chief Minister Yogi said “Today, in cities across Uttar Pradesh, streets shine with the glow of LED lights. Municipal corporations have also installed decorative spiral lighting, enhancing the beauty of cities. Before 2017, the city was associated with darkness, insecurity and poor sanitation, but today it stands as an example of lighting, cleanliness and systematic development.”
In the last nine years, Lucknow has achieved new heights in multiple sectors along with its cleanliness ranking. The city’s boundaries have expanded, people’s standard of living has improved, metro services have begun, and connectivity has strengthened through road widening, drainage improvements and expansion of basic infrastructure.
Today, Lucknow is also emerging as a defence manufacturing hub.
CM Yogi said “Through joint efforts of the state and central governments, 17 municipal corporations and the Noida-Greater Noida region have been connected to integrated command and control centres with extensive CCTV coverage and are now being developed as solar cities.”
The sacred city of Ayodhya, associated with Rama, has already been developed as a solar city. Similar work is underway in Lucknow through installation of solar panels.
Under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, rooftop solar panels have been installed in more than 4.25 lakh homes in Uttar Pradesh, generating around 1,500 MW of electricity and reducing electricity bills by more than half.
In Ayodhya, a 40-MW solar plant powers the city’s lighting system, symbolizing gratitude toward Lord Ram.
Chief Minister Yogi said, “Uttar Pradesh has emerged as a leader in public transport and metro operations in the country.” Metro services have begun in seven cities, including Lucknow, Kanpur, Agra, Meerut, Ghaziabad, Noida and Greater Noida. Passenger numbers continue to grow, with around one lakh people travelling daily on the Lucknow Metro.
Electric bus services are also expanding rapidly, and city bus fleets are gradually being converted to electric buses. An electric bus network is also being developed to connect cities and satellite towns.
An electric bus manufacturing unit of Ashok Leyland has already started operations in Lucknow. From April 15, electric vehicle manufacturing will also begin at Tata Motors’ automobile unit in the city.
CM Yogi said, “Door-to-door waste collection now seems normal, but such thinking did not exist before 2017. Disorder and poor sanitation led to diseases such as Encephalitis, Dengue, Malaria, and Filariasis, severely affecting Uttar Pradesh. A state that could have led in development and heritage was turned into a “BIMARU state,” where innocent lives were lost prematurely.”
However, the situation has now changed. Uttar Pradesh has emerged as a major growth engine of India’s economy and is moving toward becoming one of the country’s top three economies. CM Yogi Adityanath said that effective control of diseases and better waste management have been achieved. He added, “Where there is cleanliness, prosperity will follow.”
Chief Minister Yogi said electric vehicles used for door-to-door waste collection are an important part of the cleanliness campaign. Recently, Lucknow MP Rajnath Singh flagged off more than 200 such vehicles, and now 250 additional vehicles are being deployed across all wards of the city to strengthen household waste management and accelerate the mission of making Lucknow a Clean City and Green City.
He also mentioned the revival of the Gomti River and removal of encroachments in the Kukrail Forest area, where “Saumitra Van” has been developed.
Earlier neglected, the area has now become attractive and symbolizes Lucknow’s positive transformation. The name Saumitra refers to Lakshmana, representing gratitude toward him.
