Agra, Apr 4 (IANS): A new eight-lane Expressway will connect Uttar Pradesh's state capital Lucknow with Agra, and it will be eco-friendly.

The government has begun work on the exercise, according to Industrial Development Commissioner Anil Kumar Gupta.

The Expressway will connect Jaypee group's Yamuna Expressway in Agra near Kuberpur.

Gupta said Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had instructed that the Expressway should have huge water bodies and community ponds on both sides with lots of green cover, instead of concrete jungles.

The water bodies will help recharge ground water and help conservation of scarce water resources during rainy season.

The Yamuna Expressway has proved an ecological disaster as huge chunks of agricultural land have disappeared and thousands of trees felled.

Akhilesh Yadav has stressed that the land to be acquired for the Expressway should be non-agricultural land and full compensation at market rates should be paid to the farmers.

The Lucknow-Agra Expressway will make travelling faster and comfortable. The distance from Lucknow to Greater Noida could be covered in five hours, officials said.