Probe into delay of 55-acre theme park in Noida
The move to probe the theme-based sports park came after the authority’s chief executive officer Ritu Maheshwari inspected at the site and was not satisfied with the pace of the work.
The Noida authority on Friday said that it has halted the development of a theme-based park located in Sector 117 and formed a committee to probe the reasons that delayed this project.
The move to probe the theme-based sports park came after the authority’s chief executive officer Ritu Maheshwari inspected at the site and was not satisfied with the pace of the work.
“The work on this project should be halted immediately and the reason for such a long delay must be probed. The work will be restarted only after the probe is over,” said Maheshwari.
The theme-based park is spread across 55 acres. Work on this project started in 2017. However, according to officials, it was delayed as the authority is yet to acquire 33 acres of the requisite 55 acres from farmers. A part of the park was being developed on 22 acres of the available land. This park is located amid newly built group housing complexes. Authority officials are worried because the cost of this project is escalating with time, yet they are unable to acquire the required land
According to authority officials, the ‘theme’ of the park is ‘sports’. They said the park is being developed for residents living in nearby group housing complexes located in sectors 117, 115, 119 and 120. The authority aims to develop a cricket stadium, yoga centre, open-air amphitheatre, commercial space, a cycle track, a walking track, and a badminton court, etc. The authority has spent around Rs 12 crore of the total sanctioned budget of Rs 42 crore.
The CEO also inspected areas in sectors 72, 115, 117 and 119. During the inspection, Maheshwari and other authority officials found that a weekly market was organised on a main road in Sector 119, causing traffic congestion. The CEO directed officials to find out if the weekly market had the necessary approvals.
“If the market is allowed without requisite approvals, then take action against the shopkeepers,” said the CEO.
The authority officials said they would now start fencing all vacant government land so that it is not encroached upon. The authority will also put up boards at all under-construction sites along with details of the ongoing work. The details will include the name of the project, start date, deadline, budget and contractor name.
“If contractors fail to meet the deadlines of their respective projects, then we will put them on a blacklist as punishment. We have also directed the staff to beautify the central verge and footpath along roads,” said Maheshwari.
CRRI to study U-turn design in Noida
In another decision taken on Friday, the authority has said it would rope in the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI) to study the design of U-turns in Noida, which are faulty and inconvenience motorists. As of now, the existing design of the newly built U-turns on main roads including road number six (that connects Noida with Ghaziabad via the Model Town underpass), the road that links Sector 71 with Dadri, and Vikas Marg that connects Noida’s Sector 71/72 junction with Greater Noida’s Kisan Chowk, among other roads, are faulty, officials said. As a result, heavy vehicles such as school buses and trucks face problems negotiating traffic around these newly built U-turns.
“The CRRI will study the design and come up with a new one that offers smooth passage to all light as well as heavy vehicles. The new design will also save us money because it will require fewer funds to be spent upon these U-turns,” said the CEO.
