Lucknow: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday directed an immediate statewide verification of Fire NOC status in govt and private medical colleges, medical institutions, district-level women’s and men’s hospitals, and hotels, calling fire safety the highest priority and warning that lapses will not be tolerated.“Institutions whose Fire NOC validity is about to expire or those that do not yet possess a valid Fire NOC should be issued notices immediately. No compromise of any kind with public safety will be acceptable,” the CM said.He instructed all district magistrates to convene meetings with concerned departments in their districts and ensure strict adherence to prescribed fire safety standards. The directive covers both renewal compliance and identification of facilities operating without valid clearances, with an emphasis on prompt action through notices and enforcement.The instructions were issued during a review of public welfare and infrastructure initiatives at a State Transformation Commission meeting, where Yogi assessed progress across expressways, industrial infrastructure, rural livelihoods, energy, agriculture, data centres and electric vehicle charging networks.Stressing deadlines and quality, the chief minister said every project must be completed within the stipulated timeline. “Unnecessary delays in development works will not be acceptable under any circumstances,” he said, while officials presented compliance updates on directions issued in the previous review.The meeting examined land acquisition progress for key link expressways. Officials informed that for the Farrukhabad Link Expressway, 1,135.57 hectares, or 84.80%, has been made available against the required 1,339.04 hectares. For the Agra-Lucknow-Purvanchal Link Expressway, 315.73 hectares, or 49.05%, has been made available against the required 643.60 hectares. For the Jhansi Link Expressway, 654.77 hectares have been made available against the required 1,539.19 hectares. For the Jewar Link Expressway, 266.82 hectares have been made available against the required 895.34 hectares.Expressing satisfaction over the Farrukhabad Link Expressway acquisition pace, Yogi directed officials to expedite the tender process for construction. He said the new expressways would serve as a fresh axis of industrial development in Uttar Pradesh, and called for timely availability of land for industrial areas to be developed along these corridors.He asked DMs to accelerate land acquisition for the Agra-Lucknow-Purvanchal, Jhansi and Jewar link expressways and other projects, while the review also covered the Meerut-Haridwar, Vindhya, Vindhya-Purvanchal and Noida-Jewar link expressways.Progress of the Multi Modal Logistic Hub and Multi Modal Transport Hub in Greater Noida was also reviewed.On electric mobility, the CM said the establishment of EV charging stations is “the need of the hour” in view of the rising number of electric vehicles. Pointing to strong private-sector interest, he directed that approvals and procedures be simplified to enable rapid expansion of charging infrastructure.Yogi also asked officials to speed up data centre projects to position Uttar Pradesh as a leading state in digital infrastructure. Separately, the meeting reviewed work in the Lucknow Municipal Corporation area to remove and segregate high-tension power lines passing through sewer lines and manholes, with directions to complete the task on priority.During the energy department review, the CM instructed the divisional commissioners of Meerut, Agra and Saharanpur to fix feeder-wise accountability for line loss. He ordered special campaigns and stringent action wherever power theft complaints are received, and directed that uninterrupted, quality power supply be ensured for honest consumers.
