Noida authority to name village lanes, improve services
For kicking off the initiative, the authority has decided to name lanes of Jhundpura village. Poor civic amenities in villages affect urban areas as well, officials said.
The Noida authority has decided to names all lanes in villages for easy identification of different pockets in each village. Officials said that the move is aimed at improving civic amenities in villages.
For kicking off the initiative, the authority has decided to name lanes of Jhundpura village.
“We are completing the necessary formalities to start the process of naming lanes in Jhundpura. We have not yet finalised a date for starting the work but it will be soon,” Rakesh Kumar Mishra, an additional chief executive officer of the Noida authority, said.
There are 82 villages in Noida. The city is developed on 20,000 hectares acquired from farmers of these villages. These urban villages are located adjacent to upscale residential sectors but are yet to have basic civic amenities such as drainage, sewage network and roads, among others.
“We are working on preparing a robust municipal policy to ensure the development of civic facilities in villages on a par with urban areas. We cannot ignore the villages because all areas are interconnected,” said Mishra.
Poor civic amenities in villages affect urban areas as well, officials said. For example, choking of drains in villages on Thursday and subsequent waterlogging after Thursday’s downpour was a result of lack of municipal services in villages, officials said.
“Migrant workers and daily wagers cannot afford to live in sectors because of high rental costs. They have to live in villages. The population of villages is rising every day. In the absence of civic amenities in villages, residents dump their waste in the drains, leading to waterlogging. It has to be stopped immediately if Noida officials want to address civic issues in villages,” said Raghuraj Singh, a Congress leader and resident of Bishanpura, near Sector 58, Noida.
Villagers have been demanding a unique address (land title) for many years as it will give their properties a legal status and enable them to get loans, on a par with flat or plot owners. “Our demand for a clear land title is yet to be addressed,” said Singh.
“As of now, we will only name the lanes and address civic issues. We will look into other demands of villagers later,” said Mishra.
The authority in January 2016 had started a drive to name lanes of Bishanpura and provide adequate facilities but if fizzled out.