GDA panel nod for ropeway plan to link Metro stations in Ghaziabad

A committee constituted by the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) has given the go-ahead for the ropeway project route that will link Mohan Nagar and Vaishali Metro stations, authority officials said on Friday.

Officials said that they have also proposed another ropeway route, linking Sahibabad to Sector 62 in Noida, instead of the earlier proposed Vaishali to Sector 62 route.

The ropeway project in Ghaziabad has been chalked out as an alternate to the Metro rail network due to the cost factor. Earlier in January 2020, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) submitted a detailed project report to the GDA, which estimated that 1,517 crore would be needed to link Sector 62 and Mohan Nagar Metro stations and 1,808.22 crore for linking Vaishali and Mohan Nagar Metro stations.

In its previous board meeting held on April 30, a decision was taken up to form a committee in order to find out the feasibility for the Mohan Nagar to Vaishali ropeway route.

“The committee held a meeting on Thursday and gave the go-ahead for the ropeway link. The ropeway link for Mohan Nagar and Vaishali will be taken up first and its detailed project report has already been prepared. Apart from this, there is also a proposal to link Sahibabad (one of the stations on the Mohan Nagar to Vaishali ropeway link) to Sector 62 through a ropeway. Previously, there was a proposal to link Vaishali to Sector 62 but it will not happen now as there are many high-rises and residential areas on the proposed route,” said Rakesh Kumar Gupta, GDA chief engineer.

Gupta said that the ropeway project will be taken up by National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHLML), a 100% owned special purpose vehicle (SPV) of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

“The first ropeway link will be from Mohan Nagar to Vaishali and thereafter the Sahibabad link may be taken up either simultaneously or as second priority. Thereafter, the third priority will be to link river Hindon Metro station to Raj Nagar Extension and finally the New Bus Adda Metro station to Ghaziabad railway station will be taken up,” Gupta added.

Officials familiar with the development cite different reasons such as paucity of funds with the authority and lack of funding from the Uttar Pradesh government, besides high per kilometre cost of Metro, as reasons for opting for the ropeway project.

The estimated cost of the Mohan Nagar to Vaishali ropeway link is pegged at 450 crore, officials said.

However, there has already been a lot of opposition from residents and residents’ associations for the ropeway project.

“We met the district administration and GDA officials and they told us that there are funding issues for the Metro. We have requested them to rope in some specialised agency to find out what people want. We have also said that we are ready to wait for a couple of more years for Metro and in the meantime the authorities should arrange for funding. So, they should consider our demand and halt the ropeway project,” said UB Garg, president of Varishth Nagrik Samaj, Vasundhara, an association of residents and senior citizens.

“We have also opposed the project for a long time and now we will try to meet state administration officials in Lucknow and tell them that residents are opposed to the project and want Metro,” said Sanjay Singh, councillor from Shipra Sun City, Indirapuram.

GDA board member Himanshu Mittal said that the ropeway project does not involve heavy investment.

“The authority will simply have to part with land for the ropeway project and it will be funded by the executing agency,” Mittal added.