A political and legal row is brewing over the government’s ₹1,500 crore project in the Kukrail Reserve Forest. While the government promotes it as a “Global Night Safari” and eco-tourism hub, environmentalists and opposition members are criticizing the felling of over 6,000 trees. This has turned into a debate over “Development vs. Environment” in the state capital.

The UP Chief Secretary has directed all departments to achieve 100% Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) coverage linked to the “Family ID” (Ek Parivar Ek Pehchan) scheme. Politically, this is a massive move to streamline welfare delivery and ensure that “labharthis” (beneficiaries) are directly connected to the government’s digital database, a proven strategy for electoral success.

In a high-level review meeting on January 3, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath issued a stern warning to revenue officials. He directed that all pending land and revenue cases be resolved strictly on merit with fixed timelines. This “accountability” push is seen as a move to reduce grassroots-level corruption and public grievance, a common pain point for voters.

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav has raised concerns over the “Special Internal Review” (SIR) of voter lists. He stated that any mismatch between the Election Commission of India (ECI) data and the State Election Commission’s lists after the SIR would undermine the authenticity of the democratic process. This signals the opposition’s strategy to make “fair elections” a key political talking point.

Following the appointment of Pankaj Chaudhary as the new UP BJP State President, there is intense speculation about a state cabinet reshuffle. Sources suggest changes are likely after Makar Sankranti (January 14-15). High-profile names like Rampur MLA Akash Saxena and former state chief Bhupendra Chaudhary are frontrunners for ministerial berths as the party looks to balance caste equations before the 2027 polls.