Civic body seeks 184 crore from central scheme to develop industrial roads

Having no funds to repair dusty and potholed roads in industrial areas, the Ghaziabad municipal corporation has sent a proposal seeking 184 crore from the Centre’s ”PM Gati Shakti” scheme, municipal officials said on Tuesday.The funds will be utilised for laying reinforced cement concrete (RCC) roads in 12 industrial areas, they said.The road repair work was planned last year but it failed to materialise till date. The roads, in the meantime, have continued to deteriorate and the approaching monsoon will further worsen their conditions, said municipal officials.The road dust generated by these broken roads also contributes to already high pollution levels in Ghaziabad.“We have sent a proposal seeking 184 crore for laying RCC roads in our industrial areas under the PM Gati Shakti scheme. We need external funding and the funds sought under the scheme would be special grant, and not a regular grant, if approved,” said Nitin Gaur, municipal commissioner.

The corporation on its own has started the work for RCC roads in Sahibabad industrial area and work will start soon in Bulandshahr industrial area, said Gaur.“Work has been initiated in Sahibabad while work in Bulandshahr will start soon. We are using the pollution abatement funds of 15 crore, which we received from the Commission for Air Quality Management, to repair roads in Sahibabad,” Gaur said.The officials said besides Sahibabad Site IV industrial area, Bulandshahr Road industrial area, Loha Mandi and Amrit Steel compound industrial area, among others.

“We do not recall when the roads were last repaired — it could be more than 3-4 years ago. These roads are giving rise to huge amounts dust and potholes are hampering the movement of transport vehicles. The prevailing conditions give a wrong message to investors. The approaching monsoon will further worsen the conditions and proposals need to materialise soon for road development,” said Rajiv Arora, general secretary of Bulandshahr Industrial Area.

Environmentalists said dusty and potholed roads in industrial areas hamper economic activity and also aid pollution.“The dusty roads in the district are one of the major contributors to the city’s PM10 levels and one of the factors aiding pollution. One can imagine the conditions as the municipal corporation’s infrastructure development fund is stuck at the state government level and municipal officials are trying to seek funds from other schemes,” said Akash Vashishtha, a city-based environmentalist and lawyer.According to officials, about 491 crore in infrastructure development fund is pending with the state government. Former Kavi Nagar councillor Himanshu Mittal has approached the high court with a petition for the speedy release of funds.Amrit Abhijat, Uttar Pradesh principal secretary (urban development), could not be reached for comments over the issue.