UP: CBI conducts searches in connection with Gomti Riverfront project

The Gomti riverfront development plan, an ambitious project of the previous Akhilesh Yadav government, has been hit by allegations of irregularities.

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh): The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday carried out searches at various locations in Uttar Pradesh in connection with a fresh case registered in the alleged irregularities in the Gomti Riverfront project. The then Samajwadi Party government had sanctioned 1513 crores for the project, but only 60 percent of work was done even after the release of 1437 crores.

Apart from Lucknow, raids were conducted in Noida, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Rae Bareli, Sitapur, Etawah and Agra. Searches were also conducted in West Bengal and Rajasthan.

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This is the second FIR that has been registered in connection with the case. The agency had first registered a case in the scam in November 2017 and an FIR against 190 people.

In May 2017, a state-appointed committee under retired Allahabad High Court judge Alok Kumar Singh had indicated irregularities in the project in its report. On the basis of the commission's report, the Uttar Pradesh government had sent a letter to the Center for investigation.

The Gomti riverfront development plan, an ambitious project of the previous Akhilesh Yadav government, has been hit by allegations of irregularities.