Interestingly, the Samajwadi Party had all along opposed the Mayawati project for being exploitative and anti-farmer. The Agra-Lucknow Expressway came up abruptly as there never was a demand from any section for this so-called dream project.
Environmentalists and farmers' bodies initially objected to the project for which no feasibility studies had been conducted. Several opposition leaders had initially called it a "political expressway to benefit vote banks".
For the Samajwadi Party, this has become a matter of prestige. Sources said the state government was now exploring ways to add some new features to woo investors. The chief minister is also looking for central government funds to fill the budgetry gap, should the state government decide to go ahead with its own resources.
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