New Delhi It’s not the beaches of Goa or backwaters of Kerala that entice domestic tourists. Uttar Pradesh tops the chart of domestic tourist visits, registering 155.4 million of them in 2011. In fact, the state pipped Andhra Pradesh this year to bag the top slot.

According to the ministry of tourism data, the number of domestic tourist visits (DTVs) to the states and Union territories during 2011 was 851 million, registering a strong growth of 13.8% over the previous year. This, despite the economic slowdown. There were 748 million domestic tourist visits in 2010 and 669 million in 2009.

With “gutka” consumption in the State assuming ominous proportions and the younger generation getting increasingly addicted to tobacco, a “tobacco-free” Uttar Pradesh is high on the agenda of the Akhilesh Yadav Government. Chief Secretary Javed Usmani said on Thursday that an action plan would be formulated for making UP tobacco-free.

Presiding over a meeting of “Campaign of Tobacco Free Kids” here, Mr. Usmani directed senior officials of the State Health, Education, Home and Tax departments to formulate separate plans for curbing the use of tobacco.

Long wait for home buyers to possess flats may end soon

The long wait for thousands of home buyers to possess flats in Greater Noida could finally be nearing an end as a statutory body on Thursday approved the draft Master Plan for Greater Noida-2021. National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) officials said that at its Statutory Committee meeting here “the Draft Master Plan for Greater Noida-2021 was considered and recommended for consideration of the NCR Planning Board”.

Lucknow Intended to be a growth engine for Uttar Pradesh, the R14,000-crore, six-lane, access-controlled Yamuna Expressway, originally planned to be thrown open to the public before the 2010 Commonwealth Games, is finally all dressed up and ready, but unfortunately has nowhere to go.

Almost two months after the project’s concessionaire, Jaypee Infratech, communicated to the state government that the expressway was complete, it is still awaiting the state government's nod to officially declare it open. This despite the soft-spoken Akhilesh Yadav, the state’s new chief minister, having said that he strongly believed that “if we can double the speed on the roads, it can triple the pace of our economy”.

State sector would add 5,300 Mw, central sector 3,245 Mw and private sector 22,232 Mw

To tide over prevailing power crisis in Uttar Pradesh, the Akhilesh Yadav led state government has proposed to add over 33,000 Mw to its total generation capacity in the current 12 th Five Year Plan (2012-17). Of the total 33,602 Mw, the state sector would add 5,300 Mw, central sector 3,245 Mw and private sector 22,232 Mw. Besides, 2,825 Mw has been proposed to be added by other mega power projects.

National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) has sanctioned a loan of Rs 809 crore for irrigation projects in Uttar Pradesh.

Lucknow Almost five years of frosty relations between the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government gave way to new-found bonhomie on Monday when leaders of the Congress and the Samajwadi Party shared the dais at the foundation stone laying ceremony for the R 11,088-crore, 1980 mw power plant in the state.

The project, which is likely to usher in brighter days in the state in the coming years, is a 51:49% joint venture between Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) and Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam, and is to come up at Ghatampur in Kanpur district.

With this, 6 million units of electricity will be added to the grid

State-run BHEL today said it has commissioned a 250 MW unit at Harduaganj thermal power project in Uttar Pradesh. "BHEL has commissioned a 250 MW unit at Harduaganj Thermal Power Station (TPS), in Uttar Pradesh. With this, six million units of electricity will be added to the grid of the power deficit state, every day," a company statement said.

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In yet another indictment of the land acquisition policy of the previous Mayawati Government, the Allahabad High Court on Wednesday quashed acquisition of 68 hectares of village land on the pretext