Nod for transit oriented development along new Ghaziabad stations

An official of the authority on Friday said that a team of NCR Transport Corporation, the agency mandated for the development of regional rapid transit system, had arrived for a meeting at GDA headquarters and were exploring revenue options based on several projections till 2054.

The Ghaziabad development authority (GDA) has decided to introduce the concept of transit oriented development (TOD) along new stations which are proposed to come up under the regional rapid transit system corridor.

The concept of TOD involves creation of vibrant, sustainable and livable communities. It envisages the creation of compact, walkable, mixed land use communities which are generally centered near high-quality train systems. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

An official of the authority on Friday said that a team of NCR Transport Corporation, the agency mandated for the development of regional rapid transit system, had arrived for a meeting at GDA headquarters and were exploring revenue options based on several projections till 2054.

“The team wanted the figures related to stamps, TOD, floor area ratio and external development charges etc to assess the revenue generation. Since the Uttar Pradesh government will share nearly Rs 4500 crore for the project, revenue generation is also of prime importance. We will allow the concept of TOD around the new regional rapid transit system stations which are proposed to be developed in Ghaziabad,” said Kanchan Verma, vice chairperson, GDA.

The concept of TOD involves creation of vibrant, sustainable and livable communities. It envisages the creation of compact, walkable, mixed land use communities which are generally centered near high-quality train systems.

The authority in October, 2015, allowed transit-oriented development for a 2.57 km stretch of Metro rail between Anand Vihar and Vaishali.

Apart from this, nearly 500 metres along the under construction 9.41km route of Dilshad Garden to New bus-stand was also cleared for the purpose of TOD.

“For allowing TOD, we will take the proposal to GDA board and it will not require to be cleared from the state administration. There is already a government order for allowing TOD. We will allow nearly 1.5km (radius) area as TOD around the new proposed stations in Ghaziabad,” Verma added.

The phase of the regional rapid transit system system will start from Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi and will end at Meerut while passing through Ghaziabad. In Ghaziabad, regional rapid transit system stations are proposed at Sahibabad, Ghaziabad city, Guldhar, Duhai, Murad Nagar and Modi Nagar.

The NCR Transport Corporation is entrusted to develop the high speed RRTS project over a 90km route from Delhi to Meerut. Developed on line of the metro train system, the trains under regional rapid transit system will have AC coaches, airplane-type seating and luggage space, and a capacity of 2,400 passengers.

The average speed of the regional rapid transit system trains is higher, pegged at 100 km per hour (kmph) as compared to the average speed of 30kmph of Metro train system. The 90-km DGM (Delhi Ghaziabad and Meerut) section will also be integrated with Metro trains, airport and other transportation modes. The section will have proposed 17 stations with train availability every 5-10 minutes.