GDA to seek state govt’s intervention for Hindon riverfront project

Ghaziabad:

The Ghaziabad Development Authority on Friday said they would seek the state government’s funding and intervention in the Hindon riverfront development project.

The officials said the funding issue came up during a meeting held with state officials in Lucknow this week.

The GDA has planned to develop over 4km on each sides of the river Hindon near GT Road and the estimated per kilometre cost of the project is about Rs 50 crore.

The officials said other riverfront projects also were discussed in the Lucknow meeting.

“During the discussions, it came to light that a higher floor area ratio (FAR) can be given on government land for development of housing or commercial activities so that funds invested for riverfront project can be realised over a period of time. However, the stretch in Ghaziabad where we have proposed the project belongs to farmers and is not government land,” said Kanchan Verma, the authority’s vice-chairperson.

“In such a case, we will not be able to develop housing or commercial activities. So, the government’s intervention is required to execute the project and funds are also needed. As soon as we receive the detailed project report from the UP Irrigation department along with the soil testing report from IIT Roorkee, we will submit it to the state government along with the requirement of funds,” she added.

The officials said with the government’s intervention, they could speedily prepare amended bylaws that would give more FAR for housing or commercial development to make project viable. The vice-chairperson said that the Sabarmati riverfront project in Gujarat and the Gomti riverfront project in UP were also discussed.

“The Sabarmati riverfront project has provision of high FAR in a particular area and is meant for development activities so that the cost of the project can be recovered over a period of time. So we will seek the UP government’s intervention for our project,” Verma, added.

Under the plan, the authority has proposed landscaping, walkways and beautification over the 4-km kilometre stretch on each side of the river. The officials said concretisation will be kept to minimum and a retaining wall is proposed along the banks to keep away excess flow of water in the flood zone.

According to officials, the testing of soil, water and ecology and the detailed project report are likely to be completed in two more months and will be submitted to the state government for approval.