E-Paper
Govt gives nod, European Technology Park gets leg up
Hopes for revival of the Rs 2,000-crore European Technology Park (ETP) — located at the foothills of Aravalli hills in Manger village on the Faridabad-Gurgaon border — have rekindled following the state government nod to the Manger Development Plan.
Hopes for revival of the Rs 2,000-crore European Technology Park (ETP) — located at the foothills of Aravalli hills in Manger village on the Faridabad-Gurgaon border — have rekindled following the state government nod to the Manger Development Plan.
Spread over 500 acres, the ETP would be an integrated township for Europeans with residential and commercial zones.
The project was to be jointly managed by the Dutch Haryana Business Consortium (DHBC) and Haryana government.
The DHBC had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) on behalf of the state government in 2006.
In the proposed 500-acre ETP, 159 acre was earmarked for the residential zone based on European architecture, besides academic, sports, entertainment, commercial zones etc. The proposed ETP aimed at promoting European companies in the field of communication, biotech, F1 research, engineering and others.
According to the agreement, the ETP would have 159 acre for housing zones, 20 acre for academic infrastructure, 67 acre for commercial purpose, 38 acre for sports and entertainment, besides 75 acre for facility.
Till last year, the DHBC was mulling over the possibility of shifting the project to an alternate site in Haryana, following disapproval from the ministry of environment and forests to the HSIIDC over environment clearance to Aravalli hills – it being an eco-fragile zone.
However, early this month, the Haryana Cabinet approved the Manger Development Plant-2031. “We will soon have a meeting with the HSIIDC to discuss the modalities. We have decided to resurrect the plans on the ETP in Manger. Getting clearance from the union ministry and other agencies will not be a problem for the HSIIDC, which is a partner in the project,” Harish Mehta, director (Indian Affairs) of the DHBC told HT.
Earlier, uncertainty prevailed due to the row over construction on the ecologically-fragile hills.
The forest department had claimed that the project not only fell under the prohibited 5-km limit of the Delhi ridge area, but a major portion of the project also came under the forest area. Hence, permission should not be granted to such projects.
