E-Paper
Noida Extn Metro no gimmick; execution in two yrs: Authority CEO
The Noida authority on Tuesday said the two Metro lines—one towards Noida Extension and the other towards Greater Noida—it approved on Monday were “part of the government’s sincere and genuine efforts” to provide better connectivity to residents. Darpan Singh reports.
The Noida authority on Tuesday said the two Metro lines—one towards Noida Extension and the other towards Greater Noida—it approved on Monday were “part of the government’s sincere and genuine efforts” to provide better connectivity to residents.
A year ago, when Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) was in power in Uttar Pradesh, the authority had “approved” two similar lines. In the last one year, nothing happened on ground but builders rode the Metro wave and wooed buyers. Even before the last government announced plans to take Metro from Noida to Noida Extension and Greater Noida, builders projected a non-existent Metro plan in their broachers.
Asked if the authority repackaged the old plans to help builders once again when real estate is facing tough times, authority’s chief executive officer (CEO) Sanjeev Saran told Hindustan Times, “We’re not working on behalf of builders. We did not allot land to them in Noida Extension. The last government did. There are no elections round the corner for us to sound populist.”
“We’re pretty serious and are writing to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to prepare detailed project reports of these two routes. Work will start very soon and we intend to finish at least the Noida Extension line in two years.”
The authority under the last government approved two Metro lines running into 60 km and needing a budget of Rs 1,200 crore. But till the assembly elections this year they had 10 months to take the plan forward but they did not. They may have had hidden agenda. I don’t know. But we don’t have any intentions to promote real estate,” the CEO said.
“Within two years, 1.5 lakh families will have occupied these two and three-BHK flats in Noida Extension. These people earn between Rs 40,000 and Rs 70,000 per month and 80 per cent of them work in Delhi. These are typical Metro users. As it is, as a development authority, it’s our mandate to provide water, electricity and connectivity to our residents,” he said.
“As for the Noida-Greater Noida project, the traffic today might be less than expected but it will go up with time. We will market our project in such a manner that we never face the low-traffic problem,” he said. “It’s a big project and we’re exploring the possibilities of executing it on PPP basis.”
The new plan
The 7-km Noida-Noida Extension route will cost Rs 1,400 crore. Till Noida Extension there will be two stations.
The 30-km (approx) Noida-Greater Noida route will cost Rs 8,000 crore. This will be built on PPP model.
The old plan
The authority board a year ago approved a line from Noida to Greater Noida via Noida Extension. It never decided length, stations and budget
Even prior to that the authority approved a line from Noida to Greater Noida along the Expressway and pegged the cost at Rs 5,000 crore. The 23-km route was to have 22 stations.
Current challenges
Construction of Greater Noida and Noida Extension lines would face challenges because of agitations by farmers, non-clearance of Greater Noida’s master plan by the NCR planning board and cash crunch.
Builders rode the Metro wave
Even before the last government announced plans to take Metro from Noida to Noida Extension and Greater Noida, builders rode a non-existent Metro wave. They briefed and lured prospecting house buyers into bookings citing “upcoming Metro links” in the property-potential area of Noida Extension. Several community portals remained abuzz, “letting residents know” “better connectivity” in Noida Extension in “the days to come.” “The Noida Extension Metro route, mentioned frequently in cyber space, was a product of people’s imagination,” said a senior official. In fact, there is no place called Noida Extension in official records. The area being referred to by builders as Noida Extension for obvious reasons (Noida has Metro connectivity) is actually part of Greater Noida.
