Ghaziabad Master Plan 2031 may not include detailed plans of RRTS TOD zones

The draft Master Plan 2031 for Ghaziabad city, in the making since 2022, may not include detailed plans on the nine transit oriented development (TOD) zones of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project as these plans are still being flushed out, said officials of the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) on Saturday.

They said the draft plan will be sent to the state government for approval after the GDA board meeting, which can only be held after the upcoming local body elections, as elected councillors of the Ghaziabad municipal corporation are also members of the board.

The draft Master Plan 2031 has been in preparation since 2022 and the GDA board had last April approved the GIS-based plan. The authority has also completed public hearings on about 1,200 public objections it received on the draft proposals.The draft Master Plan 2031, once approved, will prevail over the existing Master Plan 2021. A master plan is basically broad layout for the development of residential, commercial, green areas, industrial areas etc., in a city

The GDA said the draft will include the board macro level details of the TOD zones and, once the detailed plans are ready, they will be sent as supplementary additions to the Master Plan 2031 to the state government at a later stage.The TOD zones refer to mixed land use zones that are demarcated alongside mass rapid transport systems where residential, commercial and other types of constructions will be developed. The concept of TOD is fast growing in global cities and aims at creating vibrant, sustainable and liveable communities that are generally cantered near high-quality train systems.

The 82km RRTS corridor has eight stations in Ghaziabad — Sahibabad, Ghaziabad city, Guldhar, Duhai, Duhai Depot, Muradnagar, Modinagar (North) and Modinagar (South). GDA officials said they are still mulling the inclusion of Duhai Depot as a TOD zone.

“The nine plans comprises the seven TOD zones around the seven RRTS stations (excluding Duhai Depot) in Ghaziabad and the two special development areas (SDAs) Guldhar and Duhai. The detailed plan preparation is underway but it may take more time to be ready. So, we will incorporate only the macro level details of the TOD zones in the draft Master Plan 2031 and present it to the board for approval. The board meeting is likely to happen in June. Thereafter, it will be sent to the state government for a final approval,” said Rajiv Ratan Sah, town planner, GDA.Officials said the area of the two SDAs, in Guldhar and Duhai, has been increased to 510.56 hectares and 549.56 hectares, respectively. The previously proposed area was 250 hectares in Guldhar and 400 hectares in Duhai, they said.

“The revised area was defined after as per the provisions of the TOD policy of the Uttar Pradesh government (released in September 2022). The detailed plan of the two areas is also being made. In all, nine detailed plans are in process and will be sent as supplementary additions to the Master Plan 2031 to the state government at a later stage,” Sah added.

The Uttar Pradesh government’s new policy has defined three types of TOD zones.

The first one is the “corridor TOD zone” in a 500m radius of the mass transit alignment, while the second encompasses areas in a 1.5km radius of stations. The third is defined as a “high potential zone” that will include special areas alongside high-speed train corridors, expressways, and highways.

“We have initiated the process for chalking out the detailed plan for the TOD zones and will soon hire a consultant for this. Once the plans are readied, they will be shared with the authority,” said a spokesperson from National Capital Region Transport Corporation, which is executing the 82km long Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut RRTS project.