GDA project of road widening

GDA project of road widening from Maharajpur border to Dabur crossing has failed in its objective
Foe the residents of Kaushambi and Maharajpur it is a dream that has sadly turned sour The ambitious Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) project for widening the section from Maharajpur border to Dabur crossing has failed in its objective and the stretch is back to being the narrow lane it used to be.
The GDA chopped down 200 trees and spent Rs 3.5 crore to convert the stretch into an eight-lane road. The stretch was one of the first in the city to be modernised and a large number of trees were cut down so that the service lanes on either side could be utilised for traffic.

Parking lot
After such a huge expenditure and poor results, the area residents and the GDA blame an MCG parking lot for the chaos in the area. The MCG has given out contract for providing parking facility to vikrams.

Eight hundred vikrams can remain parked near Maharajpur. The service lanes on the other hand have disappeared and small time dhabas have cropped up there.

"The funds have only been wasted since the service lane is of no use at all. Unless illegal shops are removed by the MCG or vikrams challaned for parking on the roads, the conditions will only worsen," says Rajkumar Mirchandani, a resident of Maharajpur.

Each vikram pays Rs 750 as annual fee to the MCG for parking in the area. Areas like Ramprastha were also to benefit from the road widening since this would provide a clear passage to commuters.

The MCG, however, has conducted no such drive to clear the main road of vendors, pan shops and other smaller shops that choke the area.

"The Metro construction work is already underway. This has reasonably slowed down the traffic here. Only beautifying the road is not enough, maintenance is also necessary Here illegal shops are using the wide road to display goods," says A. K. Mehta, resident of Kaushambi.

GDA and MCG blamegame
Both the GDA and the MCG shirk re- sponsibility even as the residents and daily commuters suffer the chaos. While MCG has not yet taken any action on the complaints by the residents of Kaushambi and Maharajpur, the GDA blames MCG for poor maintenance.

"The contract for parking for vikrams has been given so that com- muters across the border do not face any commuting problems. The chaos is also because of the haphazard parking by the Roadways buses. We simply cannot close down the parking lot as these are essential services and we cannot deny people their benefits," says MCG Chief Engineer, O.P Tiwari.
"We are beautifying the city on mod- ern lines. These developments also need maintenance. The area has illegal bus stops, small vendors who have set up permanent shops. There is no space to even drive or park in the service lane. If the MCG has not bothered to remove encroachments the area will deteriorate despite all the expenditure," says GDA Chief Engineer: Anil Garg.

Residents say
The residents of Kaushambi recent- ly took up the matter with the GDA and MCG after the illegal garbage dumps around the colony choked the drainage system.

"The area lost its extensive green cover just because we were to be provided with service lanes and the four lane road was being converted into eight lane. Today there are worse traffic jams that last all day. Living conditions have also worsened," says Subramaniam lyer, a resident of Kaushambi.