Ghaziabad On Fast Track
Ghaziabad On Fast Track, Authority Proposes A Huge Metro Network To Push Satellite Town Into Future
The Delhi Metro's extension to Vaishali may not have materialised but it has not deterred the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) from thinking big. To lure investors as well as buyers to the upcoming housing projects and to give momentum to its ambitious SEZ and IT Park projects, GDA has now proposed a huge Metro network.
With its fresh plan, the authority has proposed to connect the hi-tech areas on the eastern end of Ghaziabad and cater to integrated city and SEZ projects on northern end of the city
"We plan to take Metro to Ghaziabad in five phases. In the first phase, it will be extended till Vaishali. The second phase will see the line extend from Vaishali to Dasna via Indirapuram and Mehrauli. In third phase, the Dilshad Garden line will be taken to new bus terminal. The new bus terminal line will be extended till old bus terminal in the next phase and in the last phase, Dasna and old bus terminal line will be connected. The total length of Metro in Ghaziabad will be about 44 kilometres," said GDA vice chairman S.K. Dwivedi. He refused to give any time frame for the project.
With its new proposal, GDA has tried to cover all the areas where private developers are coming up with housing projects. Metro's proposal will help developers attract more buyers and investors.
It is believed GDA has managed to sell its backlog of properties of more than Rs 600 crore ever since it floated the metro proposal for the first time three years ago. Metro's proposal a1so managed to get private developers better prices for their housing schemes.
Offcials say the total cost of the expansion is expected to be Rs 4410 crore rupees. GDA officials say the amount will be generated through public-private partnership. In fact, the GDA has decided to levy metro cess on future housing projects. Since metro will directly benefit the upcoming housing projects, real estate developers too have agreed in principle to help in generating the money through metro cess.
Interestingly, while the GDA has announced this ambitious plan, clearly to attract investors and give a push to the real estate in the city , the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the agency constructing the metro network in Delhi and satellite towns, does not have even a hint of the GDA's gigantic plans. The GDA has not even carried out a feasibility study or survey on the proposed routes.
"The Uttar Pradesh government or any of its agencies has not ap- proached us for the extension of metro in the city We will be able to give the plan a thought only after getting a formal request about the proposed routes from the UP government," DMRC spokesperson Anuj Dayal said.
Once the UP government approaches the DMRC with its proposed routes, DMRC will prepare a feasibility study and a detailed project report. In case the alignment, costing and ridership on routes proposed by the GDA are not suitable, DMRC will also propose the alternatives.
Before signing the MoU with the UP government, DMRC will also have to get the proposal approved from the Delhi government and the central government, which are partners in the company.
DMRC officials confirm that as per their plans, the extension of Metro in Ghaziabad is confirmed on only two routes the 2.57-kilometre extension of Indraprastha-Anand Vihar line till Vaishali and 10-kilometre extension of Shahdara-Dilshad Garden section till New Bus terminal near Meerut Road t-point.
While the Vaishali extension only requires the formal signing of the memorandum of understanding between the DMRC and the Uttar Pradesh government (GDA on the UP government's behalf), the new bus terminal extension has yet to get the approval from the state government.
The Delhi Metro's extension to Vaishali may not have materialised but it has not deterred the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) from thinking big. To lure investors as well as buyers to the upcoming housing projects and to give momentum to its ambitious SEZ and IT Park projects, GDA has now proposed a huge Metro network.
With its fresh plan, the authority has proposed to connect the hi-tech areas on the eastern end of Ghaziabad and cater to integrated city and SEZ projects on northern end of the city
"We plan to take Metro to Ghaziabad in five phases. In the first phase, it will be extended till Vaishali. The second phase will see the line extend from Vaishali to Dasna via Indirapuram and Mehrauli. In third phase, the Dilshad Garden line will be taken to new bus terminal. The new bus terminal line will be extended till old bus terminal in the next phase and in the last phase, Dasna and old bus terminal line will be connected. The total length of Metro in Ghaziabad will be about 44 kilometres," said GDA vice chairman S.K. Dwivedi. He refused to give any time frame for the project.
With its new proposal, GDA has tried to cover all the areas where private developers are coming up with housing projects. Metro's proposal will help developers attract more buyers and investors.
It is believed GDA has managed to sell its backlog of properties of more than Rs 600 crore ever since it floated the metro proposal for the first time three years ago. Metro's proposal a1so managed to get private developers better prices for their housing schemes.
Offcials say the total cost of the expansion is expected to be Rs 4410 crore rupees. GDA officials say the amount will be generated through public-private partnership. In fact, the GDA has decided to levy metro cess on future housing projects. Since metro will directly benefit the upcoming housing projects, real estate developers too have agreed in principle to help in generating the money through metro cess.
Interestingly, while the GDA has announced this ambitious plan, clearly to attract investors and give a push to the real estate in the city , the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the agency constructing the metro network in Delhi and satellite towns, does not have even a hint of the GDA's gigantic plans. The GDA has not even carried out a feasibility study or survey on the proposed routes.
"The Uttar Pradesh government or any of its agencies has not ap- proached us for the extension of metro in the city We will be able to give the plan a thought only after getting a formal request about the proposed routes from the UP government," DMRC spokesperson Anuj Dayal said.
Once the UP government approaches the DMRC with its proposed routes, DMRC will prepare a feasibility study and a detailed project report. In case the alignment, costing and ridership on routes proposed by the GDA are not suitable, DMRC will also propose the alternatives.
Before signing the MoU with the UP government, DMRC will also have to get the proposal approved from the Delhi government and the central government, which are partners in the company.
DMRC officials confirm that as per their plans, the extension of Metro in Ghaziabad is confirmed on only two routes the 2.57-kilometre extension of Indraprastha-Anand Vihar line till Vaishali and 10-kilometre extension of Shahdara-Dilshad Garden section till New Bus terminal near Meerut Road t-point.
While the Vaishali extension only requires the formal signing of the memorandum of understanding between the DMRC and the Uttar Pradesh government (GDA on the UP government's behalf), the new bus terminal extension has yet to get the approval from the state government.