Greater Noida: Committee to probe foot over bridge construction near hospital

The probe has been ordered after some citizens filed complaint that the FOB that was supposed to be built near housing societies, was shifted towards a commercial complex including shopping mall and a hospital

The Greater Noida authority has set up a committee to probe construction of a foot over bridge (FOB) on one of the key roads of the city allegedly without having an official approval for the location.

But the agency has shifted one FOB towards a private hospital from Ecovillage housing society and another is shifted to SEZ from Nirala housing complex. This is a serious matter therefore we have directed the staff to issue show-cause notice against the agency concerned, said Greater Noida authority CEO. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

The probe has been ordered after some citizens filed complaint that the FOB that was supposed to be built near housing societies, was shifted towards a commercial complex including shopping mall and a hospital.

The construction work is halted and an investigation has commenced by the additional chief executive officer Annapurna Garg along with other officials.

There should be a probe to find out how the company started work at a location that was not approved and the probe must be submitted in three days, said Ravikumar NG, chief executive officer (CEO), Greater Noida authority, in a press statement on Wednesday evening.

“Also, the construction work of FOB at unapproved location must be demolished, and the action to blacklist the construction company must be initiated,” he said, adding that they directed to build FOBs near housing complexes so that the general public can make use of the facility.

“But the agency has shifted one FOB towards a private hospital from Ecovillage housing society and another is shifted to SEZ from Nirala housing complex. This is a serious matter therefore we have directed the staff to issue show-cause notice against the agency concerned,” said the CEO.

On Thursday, following his instructions, the authority’s additional chief executive officer, Annapurna Garg, conducted a site inspection and instructed the company to halt the work at Bisrakh village area.

The Greater Noida authority has decided to build FOBs at eight different locations by roping in private agencies, which will build, operate and transfer this facility.

Three FOBs have been given to one agency -- Balaji Media Solutions -- that has built an FOB near Teen Murti roundabout on a 130-metre wide road. And this agency has started the work on another FOB near a hospital in Greater Noida West area near Bisrakh village. And the third FOB will be built near Nirala Estate Township and Artha SEZ sector Techzone-IV.

Meanwhile, Sanjay Adhlakha, director of Balaji Media Solutions, said they started the work at FOB near the private hospital only after the authority engineers gave “written permission”.

“The authority engineers inspected the site with our team and then gave the permission for the site in written. We also got the structure vetting done from IIT Delhi as per the rules,” he said, claiming that they are building the FOB as per the laid down rules.

“And the work on another FOB near Nirala Estate is yet to start because the authority is yet to finalize the- location. The work on FOB near Nirala society or Artha SEZ was delayed because there is a high tension line above that location thereby delaying the work,” he added.