Defence minister Rajnath Singh credited Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath with playing a key role in Lucknow's rapid development, saying the alignment between the Centre and the Uttar Pradesh government had accelerated growth and set new benchmarks in governance. He made the remarks in Lucknow after attending an event where both leaders were present. The account emphasised administrative coordination as central to recent progress. Singh laid the foundation stone for 12 development projects in Lucknow Cantonment worth around Rs 1.01 billion (bn) and attributed progress to sustained support from the state leadership. He noted that the chief minister had regularly reviewed project progress and facilitated implementation, enabling a sharper pace of work across sectors. Officials described the interventions as aimed at urban renewal and improved civic amenities. Rajnath Singh argued that when the thinking of the Centre and the state moves in the same direction, development outcomes accelerate, and he said Uttar Pradesh was poised to continue establishing new benchmarks in development and good governance. He positioned these advances within a wider national goal of a developed India under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and added that development should not be confined to large infrastructure and modern buildings. He highlighted changes to construction norms in cantonment areas, indicating that the permissible height in Lucknow and other cantonment localities had been increased from three floors to five floors to reflect evolving urban requirements, opening greater possibilities for construction and redevelopment. The chief minister credited Singh with helping to realise former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's vision for the city and pointed to the coexistence of old narrow lanes with CM GRIDS smart roads and the Kisan Path outer ring road. He also noted Uttar Pradesh's longstanding contribution to the armed forces and said Sainik Schools established under Dr Sampurnanand were preparing young people for national service.