Ghaziabad development authority set to give nod for transit-oriented zones

GDA officials said the proposal is most likely to go through as neither of the objections received are grave in nature

The proposal for defining transit oriented development (TOD) zones along Metro corridors in Ghaziabad may go through easily as the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) received only two objections to the proposal till August 22, the last date for filing public feedback.

GDA officials said the proposal is most likely to go through as neither of the objections received are grave in nature. Once the proposal is approved, TOD zones will become a part of draft Master Plan 2031.

TOD zones are a form of mixed land use zones in which residential and commercial activities can be developed together. The concept of TOD is fast growing and aims at creating vibrant, sustainable and livable communities that are generally cantered near high-quality train systems.

The board of the GDA on August 5 approved the proposal that sought to define TOD zones alongside Metro corridors in Ghaziabad and put it in the public domain, inviting suggestions/objections from the public.

Ghaziabad city currently has two Metro corridors – a 2.1km Blue Line from Anand Vihar to Vaishali and a 9.34km Red Line from Dilshad Garden to New Bus Adda. The Blue Line has two stations and the Red line has eight Metro stations in Ghaziabad.

The proposal defines the influence area of the TOD zones in a linear stretch of 500 metres on either side of the Metro corridor alignment.

“The proposal will pave way for providing mixed land use in TOD zones. This will help in the development of residential and commercial properties alongside Metro corridors,” Vats said.

The GDA has already defined TOD zones for the eight Regional Rapid Transit System stations in Ghaziabad. The TOD zones for the RRTS stations have been defined as an area within a 1.5km radius of the RRTS stations and this has already been incorporated in the draft Master Plan 2031.

The deliberations on the new draft plan of 2031 have been going on since 2019. New areas have been defined under the new plan for Ghaziabad, Loni and Modinagar/Muradnagar. The draft 2031 plan will replace existing Master Plan 202.

GDA officials said the Metro TOD zones was the last pending item on the draft plan. Once the proposal is finalised, it will become part of the plan and the draft Master Plan 2031 will be sent to the state government for a final approval.