Lucknow, Aug 24 (IANS): Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, on Monday, reviewed the progress on implementation of the MoUs signed with Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor through video conferencing.

He said that all the proposed work for the Defence Industrial Corridor should be completed within the stipulated time. The Minister said that whatever targets have been set, they have to be achieved under any circumstances.

He said that a cabinet note on the new policy of the Defence Production Department is ready and shall be released in September. Singh said that the state government should maintain regular contact with investors and take prompt action on their issues. Singh also asked to speed up the work of land acquisition in Lucknow and Agra.

Giving details of the progress made on the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor, Chief Secretary Rajendra Kumar Tiwari said that six nodes have been developed in Aligarh, Agra, Jhansi, Chitrakoot, Kanpur and Lucknow.

Tiwari said that the state government has assigned 1,461-hectare land for the purpose, of which 1,310-hectare land has been acquired, which is over 90 per cent of the assigned land.

The Chief Secretary said, so far investments, worth Rs 3,732 crores have been announced in the state.

The Chief Secretary informed that under Aligarh node, complete planning of DPR, town planning, power station, etc., has been done. He assured that the instructions given by the Defence Minister will be followed in letter and spirit and all the targets will be completed within the deadline.

Additional Chief Secretary, UPEIDA Avanish Awasthi said that after the announcement of the establishment of the Defence Industrial Corridor in February 2018, work has been done in the state at a rapid pace.