Ghaziabad - A modern city like look

Viewed as one of the hottest real estate destinations of the National Capital Region, Ghaziabad has become a cynosure of investors and end-users. The affordable prices and large number of residential options available in various residential hubs have attracted the people in a huge way.

This week we look at the residential pockets within Ghaziabad. But before we take you to an overview, let us tell you about the different plans chalked out by the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) and the government to give this city a modern, metro-city-like look.

Road improvement
In all, GDA has proposed to build 17 new flyovers including three clover-leaf flyovers. Other than these, there will be various other underpasses and grade separators along the national highways and sector roads to decongest the roads along various points in the city and the outskirts. According to the charter of Ghaziabad Development Authority, “The city will benefit from the 6- to 8-lane expressways linking Delhi to Meerut, Hapur, and Bulandshahar.” All these three expressways would be on the lines of Delhi’s Ring Road.
Manu Garg, director, Landcraft Developers says, “Look, Ghaziabad has a natural connectivity advantage. In next five years the city will have the best infrastructure in the NCR.”
Among the three expressways, work on the Rs 33.94 crore, 8-km expressway connecting G T Road with NH 58 (which will bypass Ghaziabad city) is expected to be completed by December 2008. The 28-metre wide, signal-free expressway will ease the traffic on the NH 58 and will provide an alternative route to traffic coming from Delhi and heading towards Dehradun and Hapur.

Metro boom
Connectivity to other parts of Ghaziabad will improve with the Metro rail. To be implemented in three phases, at a cost of Rs 3,000 crore, the Metro projects will impact the realty prices of nearby areas significantly. The Metro Rail has already reached till Dilshad Garden, from where from where transport facilities into Ghaziabad can be easily availed.

Under the phase I, Kaushambi and Vaishali areas would be connected to the Metro Rail network. The first phase is slated to be completed by September 2009. The second phase involves construction of Metro Rail going further to Mehrauli (in UP) from Vaishali. The length of this track would be 16 km and will connect important destinations like Indirapuram, Sector 62- Noida crossing, Vijay Nagar, and Dundahera.
The third Phase of Metro would be complete by September 2010 and will connect Dilshad Garden to Meerut Road Tiraha. This route will pass through Shaheed Nagar, Raj Bagh, Rajendra Nagar, and Mohan Nagar.

Water and electricity
GDA also has also drawn major plans for augmenting the water supply of this area. Water will not be a problem anymore in developed areas like Vasundhara, Vaishali, and Indirapuram. As part of the Urban Infrastructure Development Scheme, the Jal Nigam of Ghaziabad is preparing a detailed master plan for drinking water supply, for the year 2040.

The other major thrust would be in power sector. The power project from Reliance Power is coming up at Dadri. Once completed, the project will supply power to UP, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, and Rajasthan. The first phase of this gas-based power project is likely to be operational by middle of 2010.

Residential boom
Most of the above-mentioned projects and plans are still in the planning stage. But private developers have started encashing upon these plans by showing the merits of their proximity to one or the other of these proposed plans. There are mainly four major residential pockets here (apart from the old city) where one can see massive development. These are four pockets are: Indirapuram, along the National Highway 58 and the bypass along the Hindon River, along National Highway 24, and Vaishali-Vasundhara. Apart from these, GDA has various housing schemes at Madhuban, Bapudham, Balmiki Nagar, Sanjay Nagar, and Indirapuram.

Indirapuram
Almost 20 to 30 developers have already built their projects here. The prominent among them are Suncity, Meriton Group, Supertech, Assotech, Express Gardens, Aditya Group, Mahagun, Guarsons, and Mapsco. This prime residential area has also been extended again and again to accommodate new dwelling units. Though its infrastructure remains a problem, this area by 2009 is likely to demand an asking rate of Rs 3,500-4,000 per sq ft for apartments.
Another factor that bring the people here is the overall development. The area will have Indirapuram Habitat Centre, which is being built by AEZ. It already has a Swarn Jayanti Park, which extends over 25 acres, and the Shipra Mall caters to the almost all occupants of Indirapuram.

Along NH 58
Currently, G T Road and NH 24 are the arterial roads for Mohan Nagar, Murad Nagar, and Modi Nagar. The only advantage of this arrangement is that the areas along these highways get excellent connectivity to Meerut and further to other areas of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Delhi’s Anand Vihar is a half-hour drive from here. Because of its good connectivity and affordable rates, projects here are selling. Parsvnath, Landcraft, SVP Builders, Shreya Group, Ashiana, KLJ, and KDP Infrastructure are some of the developers whose project sites can be seen, if one goes along this route. Parsvnath’s COO, B P Dhaka says, “Eastern Peripheral Expressway will be in proximity of this area. Development of radial roads would improve the connectivity with Noida and Indirapuram.” As two to three projects would be complete by mid 2009, it is expected that by end of 2009 the area will have a prevailing rate of Rs 2,500-2,800 per sq ft.

Vaishali-Vasundhara
The most important aspect of this area is that it has ready-to-move-in properties in the secondary market. Apart from the old housing societies of Vaishali, Vasundhara offers newer constructions from private developers like Ajnara and Coral Heights.
The area is primarily occupied by small builders having small projects. While Vaishali holds great promises, it faces great challenges as well: narrow roads that are badly maintained and rampant encroachments. The only good points are its affordable rates and connectivity. Vasundhara, on the other hand has bright future as various small projects have mushroomed here. Interestingly, the construction quality of houses here is good and one will get enough room for parking and the roads are wide. The rate, by 2009, in these two regions is likely to vary between Rs 3,500 and 4,000 per sq ft.

National Highway 24
The NH 24 has lot of potential in terms of real estate development as it has lots of room for development. The widening of NH 24 has already begun. All along this road, after Indirapuram, one can see hoardings of developers and their projects. Along the highway, till Dasna Chowk, some 15 to 20 developers have already announced their projects. Landcraft, SVP, Ansal API, Ansal Housing Construction, Crossings Republik, and Ashiana are few names.

The road goes straight till Indraprastha Park via Nizamuddin Flyover and connects important cities and towns of Uttar Pradesh to Delhi and Noida. The area has good investment potential as well, sensing which within six months of the launch of their projects many developers increased their prices by 15-20 per cent in the month of April. And even this has not deterred people from investing in these properties.
Going by the number of projects and the continuous supply of apartments along the highway, one can expect the prices to reach Rs 3,500 to Rs 5,500 per sq ft by the end of 2009.

Apart from this, from time to time, the GDA has auctioned plots under various housing schemes. Madhuban is a new development of GDA covering 1,200 acres near Raj Nagar and Kavi Nagar. Each plot here will be park-facing. Another project, Bapudham, goes towards fulfilling GDA’s social commitment to the lower income group. Recently, GDA also invited registrations for plots and MIG/HIG/LIG apartments at Indirapuram, Balmiki Nagar, and Sanjay Nagar.
The plans for development, if implemented properly and on time, will benefit thousands of young professionals and their families. The rates here are affordable in comparison to nearby Noida and Delhi and one can look at investing in one of these areas.

As Garg of Landcraft Developers says, “The city today has become an educational hub. It has a large number of engineering colleges. The city will create a big pool of talent. So in the coming years, there will be good number of companies and a huge number of young professionals who will look for affordable accommodation. Only Ghaziabad will have affordable dwelling units.” But in future prices will surely increase and appreciate.