Ghaziabad development authority to acquire pvt land for Arthala Metro station

Officials of the Ghaziabad development authority said that they have asked the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation to prepare a revised plan for the Arthala Metro station.

Officials of the Ghaziabad development authority (GDA) said that they have asked the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to prepare a revised plan for the Arthala Metro station. The revision is required as the authority has not been able to procure 2,775.43 sq m belonging to the sales tax department for construction of the station on one side of the metro link.

Arthala is a proposed stop on the 9.41-km metro link from Dilshad Garden to New bus stand. A station with entry, exit and parking facility on both sides of the metro track are proposed under the original plan. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

Arthala is a proposed stop on the 9.41-km metro link from Dilshad Garden to New bus stand. A station with entry, exit and parking facility on both sides of the metro track are proposed under the original plan.

“There was a series of communication with the sales tax department for procuring the government land at Arthala. However, matters have not materialised yet and it has been over seven months since we have been pursuing the issue. The matter is presently being taken up at the state level,” DP Singh, authority’s officer on special duty, said.

“However, we have approached a private party which owns nearly 1,200 sq m adjacent to the land we seek from the sales tax department. The private party is ready to sell the land. We have even offered to name the station after their firm. Meanwhile, we have asked the DMRC to prepare a revised drawing for the Arthala Metro station as per this new development. The revised plan will have a minor adjustment,” Singh said.

As per the original plan, the authority required nearly 720 sq m on either side of the GT Road for the Arthala Metro station, which is nearly 1.5km from the busy Mohan Nagar intersection. However, the required land is available on the other side.

The authority said that once the final negotiations with the private party are completed, they will go ahead with the purchase of the private land, which will be cost-effective.

As per norms, the authority purchased private land at the rate of Rs 68,000 per sq m along the metro alignment. The GDA has offered the same rate to the private party for its 1,200 sq m.

“This negotiation will be cost-effective for us as we will have to pay up only for 1,200 sq m instead of paying for 2,775 sq m belonging to the sales tax department,” Singh said.

The 9.41km metro alignment involves the construction of eight metro stations — at Shaheed Nagar, Raj Bagh, Rajendra Nagar, Shyam Park, Mohan Nagar, Arthala, river Hindon and New bus stand. The entire project is estimated at Rs 2,210 crore and the route is expected to become operational by June 2017.