Greater Noida gears up to prepare master plan for 2041

GREATER NOIDA: Having got the approval from the board, Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) is gearing up to prepare its master plan for 2041. Boosting industrial activity and strengthening urban services are some of the key points that will be taken up in the new plan, officials said. The last master plan, notified in March 2013, remains effective till March next year.
GNIDA CEO Narendra Bhooshan said that a concept note is being finalised and a hunt for a consultant to prepare the plan will be launched within a few weeks.“Our objective is to boost industrial development. Urban services will be also strengthened. But without industrial development and local employment opportunities, residential colonies will not flourish,” he said. “We are working on finalising our requirements internally and will invite applications from interested consultants and urban planners within the next few weeks,” Bhooshan said. “The projected population will be available once the concept note is ready.” As per the last master plan, 12 lakh is the projected population by 2021. At present, close to 10 lakh people are staying in the city.
Once ready, the master plan will be sent to the state government for its approval and will be then forwarded to the National Capital Region Planning Board for comments and suggestions.
Through the master plan, preliminary approval of the NCR planning board is taken for key infrastructure projects in advance. Besides Gautam Budh Nagar, neighbouring Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Hapur and Baghpat, Muzaffarnagar and Shamli have been notified as the part of NCR in UP. The planning will be divided into five sections — transport, ground water restoration and recharge, economic development, drainage and functional plan for sectors. The Authority will also take feedback from RWAs, officials said.