The Uttar Pradesh government has asked the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) to bring in projects of at least 10 hectares of land to expedite developmental activities in influence zones and special development areas (SDAs) with mixed land use proposed in the draft Master Plan 2031, officials familiar with the matter said on Monday.
The draft Master Plan 2031 includes individual plans for Ghaziabad city, Loni, and Modinagar/Muradnagar. The development comes as the GDA board has yet to approve the individual plans for Ghaziabad city and Loni, while Modinagar/Muradnagar was approved last Saturday.
“The state government has asked us to meet with various stakeholders so that they can bring in projects of at least 10 hectares in the influence zones of Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) stations as well as the two proposed SDAs. We had the meeting and are waiting for a response. The NCR transport corporation, which is executing the RRTS project, will prepare the zonal plans for the transit-oriented development (TOD) zones influence zones and SDAs,” said Rajesh Kumar Singh, secretary of GDA.
GDA has proposed approximately 1,060.06 hectares for two SDAs – 510.56 hectares at Guldhar and 549.5 hectares at Duhai in the plan. The two SDAs are defined near RRTS stations.
In addition, the authority has designated 5,601.11 hectares of TOD zones around seven RRTS stations (totalling 4,044.58 hectares) and the Metro’s Red Line corridor in Ghaziabad from New Bus Adda to Dilshad Garden (1,553.53 hectares).
The authority has also proposed Duhai Depot as Ghaziabad’s eighth station, becoming another TOD area with an influence zone.
TOD zones, or mixed land use zones, for the development of residential, commercial, and other types of constructions, according to authority officials, have been specified as areas within a 1.5km radius of RRTS stations and a 500m radius of mass transit lines. They were defined by the Uttar Pradesh government’s new policy in 2022.
Developers have welcomed the move, stating that the areas under the influence zones and SDAs will have high development potential, but they will wait for the zonal plan.
“However, many developers will wait for the zonal plan for these areas to be prepared. Such large land parcels may not be readily available to developers right now. Higher FAR is also encouraging project expansion and development,” said Gaurav Gupta, joint secretary (North zone) of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India.
A master plan is a macro-level plan for city development, whereas a zonal plan is a micro-level plan for specific areas within the master plan.
According to officials from the authority’s town planning department, projects can be submitted individually or as part of a consortium.
“As mixed land use has been proposed, the state government has sought these projects in SDAs and influence zones. Depending on the criteria, these zones will have a floor area ratio (FAR) of four to five, with plenty of room for vertical and horizontal expansion. According to existing bylaws, such a high FAR is not available in a non-TOD zone,” said an officer from the authority’s town planning department.
The draft plans for Ghaziabad and Loni are expected to be finalised and approved at the next board meeting, after which the zonal plan will be implemented.