Ghaziabad authority may roll out Harnandipuram township over curtailed area

So far, GDA has got consent letters from landholders for about 124 hectares, and registries have been executed for about 90 hectares that is not a continuous chunk of land, said officials

The Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) is facing challenges in acquiring contiguous land parcels for its ambitious Harnandipuram township and may launch the project with a smaller area initially, officials familiar with the matter said on Friday.

The GDA may launch Phase 1 of Harnandipuram Township near Raj Nagar Extension with lesser land than planned as it was unable to get a continuous piece of land so far and is in the process of buying the plots in between the lands chunks it has. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

Last year, the GDA had proposed acquiring 521 hectares for the Harnandipuram township from the eight villages of Mathurapur, Shamsher, Champat Nagar, Bhaneda Khurd, Nagla Firoz Mohanpur, Bhovapur, Shahpur Nij Morta and Morta.

The authority initiated the process of procuring land from farmers and landowners through direct purchase in February 2025 and, in May 2025, proposed a first-phase launch over about 120-130 hectares.

A year later, GDA officials said they have so far managed to procure and execute registries for only about 90 hectares.

“So far, we have consent letters from landholders for about 124 hectares, and registries have been executed for about 90 hectares. But the 90 hectares we have is not a continuous chunk of land. We have not been able to get a continuous patch for the development of the township. Now, we are trying to purchase the plots in between the chunks we have,” Vivek Kumar Mishra, GDA secretary, told HT on Friday.

Phase 1 of the township was proposed on land from five villages.

The GDA, in its board meeting held on Thursday, also cleared a proposal for acquiring land belonging to the remaining three villages — Bhovapur, Morta and Shahpur Nij Morta — through direct purchase.

The authority’s proposal document states that about 125.28 hectares will be acquired from the three villages. It added that for land in Morta, the authority will offer ₹12,100 per square metre (sqm), while rates of ₹18,360 per sqm and ₹14,600 per sqm, respectively, have been proposed for land in Bhovapur and Shahpur Nij Morta.

“The layout for the Harnandipuram scheme will be taken to the GDA board in the next meeting. It is likely that we may be able to launch Phase 1 in September or October. We may go ahead with a launch over around 40 hectares, as continuous patches are difficult to find. The patches with us are not contiguous,” GDA vice-chairperson Nand Kishor Kalal told HT.

Officials said the township project has a budget of about ₹2,384 crore.

Farmers said they have been demanding higher rates for their land, arguing that the prices offered on the basis of circle rates are much lower than prevailing market rates.

“The GDA has now included three more villages as they want to launch the scheme, but they do not have continuous land. The rates offered to landholders and farmers are lower than market rates. So, farmers are not ready to give their land for the township. We have submitted representations in this regard at different levels,” Daksh Nagar, president of Bharatiya Kisan Union (Anaj) and a resident of Mathurapur village, said.

The Harnandipuram township is proposed behind Raj Nagar Extension near the Delhi-Meerut Road, close to the planned international cricket stadium and the proposed aerocity-themed township along the Eastern Peripheral Expressway.