Ghaziabad’s Arthala metro station may be scrapped due to land issues

GDA may scrap a proposed metro station at Arthala due to problems in acquiring land.

The Ghaziabad development authority (GDA) may scrap a proposed metro station at Arthala that falls under the under-construction metro route from Delhi’s Dilshad Garden to Old bus stand in Ghaziabad.

Nearly 2,775.43 square metres (sqm) is required for development of the metro station. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

The 9.41-km metro extension is estimated to cost of nearly Rs. 2,210 crore and is proposed to have eight stations in Ghaziabad – Shaheed Nagar, Raj Bagh, Rajendra Nagar, Shyam Park, Mohan Nagar, Arthala, river Hindon and New bus stand.

According to GDA officials, nearly 2,775.43 square metres (sqm) was required for development of the Arthala metro station and to procure the land there have been a series of communications with the sales tax department, which owns the land.

“However, there has not been any final decision on the land allotment as the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) requires land immediately for development. As per the project, a station is required on both sides of the metro alignment. While we are yet to get land on one side from the sales tax department, we have nearly 1,400 sqm on the other side,” said DP Singh, officer on special duty, GDA.

GDA vice chairman Vijay Kumar Yadav had also raised the issue with UP chief secretary during a recent meeting at Lucknow over the metro funding pattern.

In a series of communications, the sales tax department had sought an alternate piece of land measuring the same, in areas between Vijay Nagar and UP Gate near NH-24. However, the authority had made it clear that the land along NH-24 was only meant for green belt usage.

The GDA had further sent a proposal that it could provide land of the same value under its Madhuban Bapudham residential scheme and had proposed that flats of the same value as the land could also be provided to the sales tax department.

According to official sources in the GDA, the sales tax department had sent a proposal to their senior officials at Lucknow about the flats being made available. However, that proposal is yet to be considered.

Sources said that any such arrangement would require intervention from state officials who can get the issue resolved in a short time. As of now, the matter of land allotment for Arthala metro station has been delayed and may further delay the work on the remaining alignment.