Development

The Mayawati government has taken the PPP route in several sectors including power, education, infrastructure, sugarcane, tourism, transport and urban development. However, the perceived rigidity in policies and failure to catch the imagination of investors is hampering several projects.

Work is underway for the Rs 30,000-crore flagship Ganga Expressway Project (GEP),a 1,047 km long, eight-lane expressway on the bank of the Ganga, to be constructed by the Jaypee Group. "The land acquisition process is on," Industrial Development Commissioner VK Sharma told Business Standard.

Meanwhile, the state urban development department is working on the Integrated Urban Rejuvenation Plans (IURP) for eight cities -- Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, Agra, Allahabad, Meerut, Ghaziabad and Aligarh.

IURP will include multi-modal transport system, parking facilities, infrastructure development, sanitation, public convenience and waste management.

"The board has granted approval of 1.2 acre of land in sector-43 for setting up a women police station. It will be given at just Re 1 per square meter," Noida CEO Mohinder Singh told media persons after the board meeting.

"The board also reduced the sewer and water supply connection charge from Rs 1500 to Rs 500 per connection in villages," Singh said.

"The flyover at Sector 37 roundabout would be in semi-circular form opposite to elevated Metro Railway line. Commuters coming from Kalindi Kunj, Amity University and Film City would have direct access to DSC road that leads to Sector 40 and onwards, Phase-II, and Greater Noida," Sandeep Chandra, Senior Project Engineer of Noida said.

Another part of this Rs 68 crore project is an underpass that will give a signal-free way to vehicles coming from DSC Road to the plush Sector 18 market. Those that follow this circle would have direct access to the market that otherwise sees cars piling up i n long queues during peak hours. The flyover will be 790 metres and underpass 600 metres in length. The project is estimated to be complete within 18 months from the date of starting of work.

Another circle belonging to the signal-free facility is Rajnigandha Chowk at elevated Metro Railway line crossing. Commuters from DND flyover will enter the city through the underpass without waiting at the red light. After construction of this six-lane 660-metre underpass the vehicles that come from New Ashok Nagar and Goal Chakkar will have direct access to Atta Market. The tender of this Rs 28.28 crore project has been floated and work is expected to start within a month or two and would be completed before Commonwealth Games.

"More flyovers and underpasses will come up in the city that will help in handling traffic pressure during Commonwealth Games and thereafter," said Mohinder Singh, CEO of Noida. An eight lane flyover is already under construction at T point in Sector 15 to make it signal free.

The Noida Authority has come up with a mega Rs 1,200crore plan to boost its road and transport infrastructure by 2012.

Many of these projects - flyovers, underpasses, elevated roads and parking lots - will be completed in 2009, before the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

Chief Executive Officer of Noida Authority Mahinder Singh told Hindustan Tirnes: "A Rs 1200 crore traffic and transportation plan has been prepared for Noida. It mainly comprises a road infrastructure development plan, a traffic management plan and a public transport plan." Singh said six major roads would be widened, 21 crossings would be made signal-free, new road corridors would come up along the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway These are besides 25 foot overbridges and multilevel parking lots. 348 buses will also be added for a better public transport system.

"Major arterial roads will be widened from four to six lanes in the first phase of implementation by 2009 end. The projected roads include the Delhi Noida Link Road, Harsinagar Marg, M.P. Road No. 3 etc," said Singh.

Singh said new road corridors will be constructed for better connectivity to new residential and institutional areas planned in Sector 62 and in sectors along the Gautam Buddha Expressway "Twenty-one crossings are projected to be made signal-free by construction of grade separators by 2009," he said.

Besides these, elevated roads at the Agrasen Chowk junction and the Sector 25, 25A, 31 and 32A crossings are expected to cater to the large volume of traffic. They are projected to be implemented by 2012. Around 25 foot overbridges or subways are proposed to be developed at densely populated areas like DSC Road adjoining Sector-18 and MP Road No. 2 near the Great India Place.

Singh said seven parking spaces would be developed. This includes one multilevel parking lot for 2,000 vehicles at Sector 18, four at Sector 3 and Sector 58.

To boost the public transport system, 29 bus routes have been identified where 358 new buses - 308 ordinary and 40 - will be added. Singh said about 10,000 to 12,000 rickshaws ply in the city and at some locations are the only means of public transport available. In order to regulate the movement of non-motorised modes, cycle rickshaws will be allowed only on service roads.

"Till now we used to design and build customised mini-theatres for individual clients. But as trends are changing, we are started getting bulk orders from big and small developers to build similar theatres for their hiend homes. Currently we have orders to build about 300 mini-theatres for Omaxe, DLF, Unitech, Emmar MGF and other builders in Delhi NCR region", said Himanshu Kumar, managing director of the Delhi-based firm that has already built 180 mini-theatres for high-profile clients.

"Though a relatively new concept in India, the market for mini-theatres is growing by 40% annually. Today people also have enough disposable incomes. Looking at the rising number of people wishing to replicate the "theatre-experience" in their homes, we are targeting a five-fold increase in our revenue by 2009-10", he added. The demand for minitheatres can be gauged from the fact that HKMT has been booked till October 2009. "We can build only 4-5 theatres in a week", he said.

"Most of the 300 odd theatres that we are building are for apartments and villas costing Rs 5 crore and above in Ludhiana, Gurgaon and Delhi NCR region", he said adding that the company would be charging between Rs 6-12 lakh for a theatre from the builders. Most of these theatres will be between 300-400 square feet in size.

HKMT is building mini-theatres 110 units of hi-end apartments which are being built by Omaxe at Ludhiana. "We are also building mini-theatres for some of the smaller builders in the NCR regions where they will be located in the basement of designer bungalows. Apart from this , we are building demo-theatres for DLF's sales pavilions in 23 different cities", Kumar remarked.

The process of allotment of shops in the flori mart will begin as soon as the notification is issued by the UP government. Two flori marts are operational in India, in Mumbai and Pune.

Shops in the flower mart command huge premium as the unorganised flower market in Delhi's Connaught Place, where business worth overs Rs 800 crore is transacted annually, are likely to be shifted to the new flower mart at Noida.

Besides the Noida flower mart, in view of the huge business potential is expected to attract the flower growers from Uttarakhand, Himanchal Pradesh Punjab and even the north eastern states.

In the flower mart 74 shops, which includes 64 C type and 10 B type shops are to be allotted to the flower cultivators and traders.

"All formalities have been completed and we have devised separate by-laws for the flowers trade and for the selection of traders and farmers who can take part in the auction process for the allotment of 74 shops constructed within the Flori mart'', said Rajesh Kumar Singh, director of the UP state Agriculture produce marketing boards.

"The Noida flori mart will be our hugely successful venture. The biggest flower market in North India operates from Cannaught place Delhi which transacts business of over Rs 2 crore a day, is an illegal market which operates from 5 am in the morning to 7 pm, but we do not want that market to be shifted to Noida, we wants to create an attractive business environment for the traders and farmers so they will come on their own to Noida,'' said Rajesh Kumar Singh.

The services would be available to all those who register themselves with Noida Lok Manch (NLM), the body that looks after Antim Niwas. Everyone who lists will have an IP address with a unique username and password provided by NLM. To view proceedings as they happen, relatives of the dead will have to log onto to a server, using the provided details.

And initially those who avail of the services will have to shell out a nominal amount. Explaining it, Harish Chandra, a member of the Noida Lok Manch said, "In the beginning one has to pay a nominal amount of Rs 3,100 for the live telecast and Rs 300 for the DVD. However, once the number of registrations increases, the charges will be reduced." The entire project that took almost two months was carried out at a cost of Rs 7 lakh, all of which was collected through donations.

According to reports reaching here, chief secretary Atul Kumar Gupta, while addressing the investors, underlined the need of construction of world class road network in the state, provision of transport facilities through expressways and link expressways .

He said that there was a proposal to construct international airports near Noida, Saharanpur and Kushinagar. He said that private sector participation in medical and education sectors was the need of the hour.

Principal secretary, transport , Desh Deepak Verma said that transport had an important role in the economic and social development of the state. Buses, he said, were the main mode of transport for 150 crore passengers every year in the state.

He also gave information regarding the government policies and conditions for investment in the transport sector .

In its 139-page report, a high-powered committee set by the court said: "This includes the investment requirements projected for critical sectors, with Rs13,183 crore for water, Rs 1,51,742 crore for power, Rs 19,141 crore for transport, Rs 1,362 crore for solid waste and Rs 8,322 crore for sewerage." The committee was asked to harmonise the provisions of the Master Plan for Delhi-2021 and the National Capital Region Planning Board's Master Plan 2021 to decongest Delhi. "These figures are likely to undergo an upward revision once detailed project reports are prepared," it said.

The committee comprising officials from the National Capital Region Planning Board, NCT Delhi, DDA, MCD and NDMC, Solicitor General G.E. Vahanavati and senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, and Union Urban Development Ministry Joint Secretary M.M. Kutty was set up on July 7 by a special Bench headed by Justice Arijit Pasayat, which is hearing petitions challenging MPD-2021.

Spread over an area of 33,578 sq km, NCR comprises Delhi and parts of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan.

These include Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Ba hadurgarh, Ballabhgarh, Panipat, Sonepat, Rohtak and Palwal, besides certain other smaller towns.

The Bench has asked the Centre, Delhi Government, MCD, NDMC and NCRPB to respond to the report. MCD counsel Sanjiv Sen said:

"We will study the report and accordingly formulate our response before the next date." Emphasising that resource mobilisation was an important factor for successful implementation of Regional Plan 2021, the panel said it would involve "substantial commitment" by the state governments.

It said focused attention by state governments to enhance infrastructure in the regional centres in the NCR was essential and critical in terms of preparation of subregional/master plans, district plans and also in terms of implementation of these plans.

It pointed out that in sectors like railways, national highways and power, the central ministries concerned must periodically monitor the progress.

Stressing the need for timely completion of projects and removal of bottlenecks including adequate funding, the panel favoured more consultation and monitoring by the Ministry of Water Resources on issues like water that has been a subject of inter-state dispute.

Once again as a winter bonanza for the city, S. K. Dwivedi, GDA Vice Chairman, has also formally announced plans for inviting applications from all over the country to promote a handicrafts bazaar in the Haat.

Soon proper boards will be put up on a roadside for the guidance of the public. Traffic from DPS side and Kailash will now go around a U turn and traffic from Film City and Sector-18 and from Flex and NTPC side will have unhampered smooth flow.

According to Noida Authority officials, MP-3, that is the road from Film City to Flex crossing is proposed to be made red light signal-free. DPS crossing was selected as the first crossing to bring about this change. U turn is completely ready on this crossing. Opposite Jaipuria Plaza is located the district hospital which also makes this road a busy stretch. Government hospital is being renovated right now.

After the success of the experiment at this crossing, work on city centre and NTPC crossings will be taken in hand.

Traffic coming from Film City and Sector-18 will have to use this U turn for going to DPS side, while traffic from Kailash Hospital side will take a turn and then use the U turn for going to DPS School and Sector-37.

Ultimately all the red light signals from Film City to Flex crossing will be removed. A total of four to five U turns will have to be made on this road, officials said.

Currently, the Dasna jail located in the Ghaziabad district is being used to hold the inmates of GBN. The first phase of the project has been completed of earmarking the land for the venture. The construction for the complex will be completed within one year. As the Dasna jail is located at quite a distance from GBN district, presently, the police force face a tough task in ferrying the prisoners to and from the jail during court hearings. Also, extra force has to be deployed for the purpose and there is always a risk of the prisoners trying to escape during the long journey.

Current indications are that further clearances for the project and the Centre's support may not be forthcoming. "The matter is pending with a Group of Ministers (GoM) which is looking into the legal aspects of the proposed project. We should wait for their comment and observation," a government official said.

The Union Cabinet gave its in-principle approval to the Greater Noida airport at the beginning of this year, but the issue of compensating the GMR Group which runs the Delhi airport is pending.

The GMR group-led Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), which is upgrading the Delhi airport with large investments, was quietly resisting the Greater Noida airport project. DIAL's fear is that the new facility would take away part of its future revenue, and the concern is more significant now since passenger traffic is suffering negative growth. According to current rule, no international airport can come up within 150 km of another without prior government approval.

And better still the agency has decided to provide a crane to the traffic police for towing away wrongly parked vehicles that have become a growing nuisance on the city roads.

The four-laning of the road along Hindon is welcome news for the commuters since this road is at present only a two-lane road. The agency, in collaboration with the UP Awas Vikas Parishad, will spend Rs 100 crore for the 7.8 km stretch.

"There were three focus points of the GDA board meeting. One was to clear a proposal for construction of another connecting road and overbridge along Hindon river, two to check the nuisance that the baraat ghars have become, and three to provide a vehicle lifting crane to traffic police to tow wrongly parked vehicles," says S. K. Dwivedi, Vice Chairman, GDA.

After years of ignoring the complaints from Vasundhara, Vaishali and Delta Colonies, the board has formulat- ed bylaws to be followed by the baraat ghars.

As part of the drive to improve the city area, mushrooming baraat ghars have also come under scrutiny for not having adequate parking lots.

"It has been one long wait for some agency to take stringent action against the baraat ghars. Prime areas like Link Road are known for the nuisance. There are at least 10 baraat ghars of varied sizes that create a nuisance during the marriage season. The five km distance is choc-a-bloc with at least 150-200 cars parked everyday during the season. Even complaints to the police have been futile," says Rashmi Mirchandani, a resident of Vaishali.

The city will also house its very own campus of National Institute of Fashion Technology in the 120-acre land recently acquired by the GDA in Loni. A total of 31 proposals were presented in the GDA board meeting, out of which 24 have been passed,

The GDA, in its board meeting held on Monday, approved the proposal regarding the development of this ambitious project.

The Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) would develop the shopping and residential hub along with a container depot, warehouse and entertainment facilities, said vice-chairman (VC) Captain SK Dwivedi.

In the board meeting, 31 proposals were considered out of which 22 were approved.In addition to the development of integrated hub, the GDA would go for a global consultancy services.

For that the Government of UP had already approved the GDA's plan submitted earlier. The board in its meeting on Monday approved the proposal, said the VC of GDA.

The board further approved the allotment of land to National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) at Koyal Enclave.

The board further asked the DMRC to update its Detailed Project Report (DPR) from Dilshad Garden to New Bus Stand at Ghaziabad submitted in 2005.

The board approved the Integrated Urban Resolution Plan (IURP) for the cities having population over 15 lakhs.

It was decided to study the need to strengthen the infrastructure of those cities that are having population over 15 lakh.

Harminder Raj Singh, Principal Secretary (Housing) chaired the board meeting. GDA secretary Raj Kumar Sachan, Chief Architect & Town Planner (CATP) SK Zaman, HS Saharia from Municipal Corporation and ADM (E) representing District Magistrate were present at the meeting.

At Greater Noida, a unique ecotel concept is been followed, which is a firm commitment to pursuing progress in partnership with nature. Translated into layman's language, it simply means that if you are planning to construct a house in Greater Noida, you won't be able to move in to your home if it doesn't have a full-bloom tree in its premises. To obtain a building's completion certificate, the GNIDA has made it mandatory for an allottee to plant a few evergreen trees in their premises. The rule holds true not only for residential areas, but commercial, institutional and industrial plots as well.

All allottees have to fulfill this condition, no matter what the size or the type of their plot. Moreover, the bye-laws also say that if at any later stage the tree is cut, the allotment can be cancelled.
As per the green rules, the completion certificates are handed out to allottees only on fulfillment of two conditions. First is planting of trees and second is installing a system for rainwater harvesting. The number of trees depends on the size of the plot. The owners of 120-300 sq m residential plots must plant two saplings in their premises, while those owning a plot with size over 300 sq m should have three saplings.

One can see the difference -- the green belts, wide roads, big malls, excellent connectivity to Delhi, etc., and I can go on and on with this.

I want to know why some people cannot gracefully accept the fact that Noida has shown tremendous development in the last few years. The media also like to play up minor aberrations in a huge, dramatic manner.... be it crime or any other issue. Thus, the world starts getting a negative picture about the situation. Actually, people see through the eye of the media and form a wrong perception about everything.
I know we are in a democratic country, but for sure there should be self-censorship. I wish the media plays a role in the betterment of society rather than sensationalizing every small issue.
Why can't they showcase the development happening in cities like Noida and form a positive picture?

Greater Noida is home to a number of Indian and foreign multi-national companies. Today, Greater Noida stands a class apart from other cities. The residentail and commercial policies formed and implemented by Greater Noida Authority have resulted in an influx of number of residents and commercial activities in this area. The area is famous for its proactive administration, modern infrastructure, advanced telecome facilities, 24hour power supply system and policy to allow only zero pollution industries to establish their set-ups in this region.

The Noida Master Plan 2021 and the Tak Expressway are scaled to make the Greater Noida a world class city. To know more about development in the area, we spoke to Lalit Srivastava, Chairman and CEO, Greater Noida Authority. Talking about the development to expect in the area he said, "Greater Noida is a fast developing township with focus on industrial development. The idea is to promote industries yet have a sustainable residential development of the city. For this purpose, residential, commerical, institutional and recreational facilities are being provided." "The focus is on development of financial hub, offices and educational hub that has made Greater Noida a knowledge centre. We are a number of projects like Night Safari, Golf Course, Craft Mela ground, IT Park etc in the pipeline."

Among the proposals is a tunnel between Vasant Kunj and the airport that will bypass the traffic intersection at Mahipalpur. According to NHAI officials, since the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway's foundation goes as deep as 20 metres, the tunnel will cross the expressway at least 30 metres below the ground. The Delhi PWD is reportedly carrying out a feasibility study.