Ghaziabad: Plans changed to speed up work on cricket stadium

The construction of the international cricket stadium may pick up pace in the coming months as the officials of the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association (UPCA) have agreed to a lower floor area ratio (FAR) at the stadium complex, said officials of the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA).

The deliberations to construct the stadium had been on since 2018 but the FAR component demanded by the UPCA was higher than the permissible limit, said GDA officials.

They said the stadium, along with a proposed cricket academy, is being constructed at a cost 400 crore and the facility will host international cricket matches. The facility is proposed to come up on 32 acres of land at Morti near Raj Nagar Extension, said officials.

“The officials of the UPCA met us and they agreed upon a change in land use. The land has agriculture use at present and they will apply for the change to community facilities. After that, they will submit their map for clearance. So, the FAR component available under the changed land use of community facilities will be sufficient to their requirement and the project will be expedited,” said Rajesh Kumar Singh, secretary, GDA.

In November 2019, the GDA officials said the UPCA did not submit the stadium maps for sanction and they were also demanding a higher FAR of about 2.7 which was not permissible under the existing norms.

According to initial plans, a 23 acre plot was earmarked for construction of the cricket stadium. The rest was proposed for commercial activities and a mixed land use was demanded for this portion which required a higher FAR component.

As per the initial proposal submitted to the authority, the stadium was to have a seating capacity for about 50,000 while an additional facility was to be added in next phase to accommodate 25,000 spectators more. It was also proposed to have a parking facility for about 2,500 vehicles.

“At present, we are just looking to expedite the construction on the stadium and the sports academy. For that, we have a present requirement of FAR of about 1-1.2, which will be sufficient for construction. So, we are in the process of preparing the proposal and it will be submitted to GDA in the coming days. Once this is done, we expect that the work for the stadium will be expedited,” said Rakesh Mishra, convener of the international cricket stadium.

The officials of GDA’s town planning department said if the UPCA opts for changing the land use of the proposed land to community facilities, then the agency can claim a FAR component which will be sufficient for construction of the stadium and the sports academy.

“The maximum FAR under community facilities is 1.5 and this will be sufficient for construction of stadium and sports academy. We are waiting for their proposal. However, we expect that things may move in the positive direction this time,” said an official, who wished not to be named.