Prayagraj: The alignment and land-record verification for the proposed 233km Vindhya Expressway, which will connect Prayagraj with Bhadohi, Mirzapur and Sonbhadra, have been completed in 45 villages of the district. Verification is underway in 33 more villages, officials said.A consultant engaged by the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA) is carrying out the exercise, after which the district administration will give its final approval. Officials said the process was likely to take another one to one-and-a-half months.Approved by the state cabinet on Tuesday, the expressway will pass through 84 villages in Prayagraj district — 29 in Soraon, 24 in Phulpur and 31 in Handia. Announced during the Maha Kumbh, the project is expected to significantly improve connectivity in the Vindhya region.The agency initially mapped 45 villages along the proposed alignment. A subsequent survey by the district administration found discrepancies in the land records of 31 villages, including errors in plot numbers, land area and landowners’ names. The records were later corrected, and the district administration sent its report on all 45 villages to UPEIDA.Verification is now underway in another 33 villages. Once details of 78 villages are finalised, UPEIDA will begin the exercise for the remaining six.Special land acquisition officer and ADM (Namami Gange) Sanjeev Kumar Shakya said the report covering 45 villages had been sent to UPEIDA, while verification reports for the other 33 were being prepared.Administrative nodal officer and ADM (finance and revenue) Vinita Singh said officials in all three tehsils had been directed to prepare for land registration. Once the alignment and verification exercise is completed, UPEIDA will begin executing land sale deeds for the project.
