Ganga Expressway

The Ganga Expressway project was launched by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati after coming to power in 2007. The project aims to construct a 1047 km access controlled eight-lane expressway running along the Ganga (Ganges) River. This expressway will connect Greater Noida to Ballia thus ensuring high speed connectivity between the Eastern and Western boundaries of Uttar Pradesh. The proposed expressway from Ballia to Greater Noida is also planned to provide a flood control embankment — floods being a major cause of agricultural and environmental damage, diseases and deaths during India's monsoon season. The expressway will connect major cities in the state of Uttar Pradesh, passing through Varanasi, Mirzapur, Allahabad, Pratapgarh, Rae Bareli, Unnao, Kanpur, Kannauj Hardoi, Farrukhabad, Shahjahanpur, Badaun, Bulandshahr.

Construction work on Ganga Expressway has not yet started because of an order from the High Court of Uttar Pradesh. The order instructed that the state and the concessionaire complete a full environmental study and obtain permission from the central government before embarking on the construction. The concessionaire has completed the study and submitted its proposal with Ministry of Environment and Forests in New Delhi, in April 2011, to obtain environmental clearances, as required by recently enacted Indian environmental laws.