Faridabad: on the path of smart development
From reviving the dying Badhkal Lake to revamping the city’s drainage network systems, Faridabad is all set to go smart
Fortune seems to be favouring Faridabad. Last year it got connected to the Metro and just a few weeks ago it was listed as a fast track smart city.
A move is being made to shift the city’s focus to the service industries though it is known for its core industries. Efforts are also being made to improve its infrastructure. In the process, it’s likely that people flocking to Millennium City Gurgaon will soon find an affordable housing alternative here.
Faridabad, last month, was included in the fast track list of 13 towns that will be developed into smart cities. The Municipal Corporation of Faridabad had submitted a smart city proposal projecting an expediture of Rs 2,600 crore to the union ministry of urban development earlier this year. The plan included area-based development proposals involving development of an area of 1,267 acres, including sectors 19,20, 20A, 21A and 21D.
The plan includes retrofitting these sectors surrounding Badhkal Lake. It includes three Metro stations, a Metro depot, a railway station and two urban villages (Fatehpur Chandela and Arjondi) and two regularised urban slums (Sant Nagar and Friends Colony). The ecological restoration and rejuvenation of the dying Badhkal Lake includes filling the lake with treated water - which is likely to be done in 300 days. For this an STP plant will be constructed 2 km away and a pipeline carrying treated water will be linked to the currently dry lake, explains D R Bhaskar, nodal officer of the smart city project, Faridabad.
The cost of the project, expected to be completed in two years, is around Rs 50 crore. As of now, what’s known is that a water front and a forest city will be developed around the lake, which will be known as the Badkhal Marina. It’s part of the Vanikaran Yojna of the government to reduce pollution and develop the area for recreational activities. The city will also go pedestrian and cyclist-friendly with cycle tracks and footpaths of 4 km length along the NH2. Faridabad Railway station has also been identified among 400 railway stations that will be developed as part of the project, he says.
Other plans include developing mixed use, high density avenues, plazas, public open spaces along Metro stations in areas along the six-lane NH2, non-motorised transport lanes, intelligent traffic management systems and smart signages.
Green projects include rain water harvesting and automated online water quality monitoring systems, revamp of sewerage and drainage network systems in these sectors, provision of smart toilets, solid waste management systems, solar rooftops and LED street lighting etc.
Development of this smart cluster is expected to impact the realty market in the area. “It will be one of the drivers that will boost the image of the city, make it far more livable,” says RC Gupta, managing director, RPS Group.
The Greater Faridabad 2031 Master Plan that is yet to be notified has a provision for around 35 new residential sectors out of which five to seven are institutional and industrial, he says. Besides, the widening of the NH2 to a six-lane expressway that is under advanced stages of construction will boost connectivity with the Capital.
RPS is offering around 2,344 units in RPS Savanna project in Sector 88. “Over 1,700 apartments have already been delivered and 1,000 families have moved in. The company has so far delivered 19 towers and eight towers are expected to be completed by September this year. Another project, RPS Palms, has been completed and offered for possession. This includes 456 low-rise ground plus two units. RPS Auria in Sector 88 is a relatively new project. Spread across 17 acres it is still under construction. The company plans to launch RPS Palm Extension and an RPS Auria Extension by the end of this year,” Gupta says.
BPTP, another real estate company, has given around 9,000 units for possession so far and around 2,000 families have moved in. It has no new launched planned in the near future. “The market has been taken over by end-users, especially those working in Gurgaon. Buyers are mostly people in the income bracket of Rs 10 lakh to Rs 12 lakh per annum,” says a company spokesperson.
Rajiv Bhasin, broker with Bhasin Estates, says that prices of projects in Sector 88 range from Rs 44 lakh to Rs 46 lakh for a 2BHK and Rs 61 lakh for a 3BHK. A 2BHK in an under- construction project costs Rs 32 lakh . Rentals for a 2BHK in Faridabad are around Rs 10,000 per month and for 3BHK units they’re around Rs 15,000. “Earlier we would strike around seven deals, now we do barely two or three. Some people prefer Faridabad to Gurgaon because it is peaceful and affordable and the sizes that are available are bigger than projects in Gurgaon. Sizes of apartments in Faridabad range from 1200 sq ft to 2022 sq ft,” he says.
Arjun Puri, director of Puri Constructions, says the company plans to launch a 100-acre township in Sector 88 – both plots and floors in a couple of months. The company has so far delivered close to 1,000 units in the area and 5,000 families have moved in.
