Ghaziabad civic body readies plan for infra upgrade in Indirapuram

Ghaziabad municipal corporation plans ₹377 crore for infrastructure, including ₹185 crore for Indirapuram upgrades and ₹71 crore for air quality improvements.

The Ghaziabad municipal corporation has prepared a work plan to carry out different infrastructure works to the tune of ₹377 crore, including a plan of ₹185 crore for upgrading infrastructure in Indirapuram and another of ₹71 crore for air-quality improvement.

The Indirapuram township was taken over by the corporation from the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) in September 2024. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

The Indirapuram township was taken over by the corporation from the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) in September 2024.

According to the takeover agreement, the GDA will provide ₹185 crore to the civic agency for upgrading infrastructure such as sewers, drainage, water, roads, parks, etc.

“As of now, we have received about ₹110 crore from GDA. But we have chalked out a work plan for the entire ₹185 crore. We have floated tenders of ₹110 crore. More tenders will be floated soon,” said Vikramaditya Malik, Municipal commissioner.

Officials said ₹185 crore work plan includes ₹50 crore each for upgrading drainage and roads, ₹20 crore for upgrading water supply, ₹25 crore for upgrading sewer lines, ₹11 crore for improving parks, ₹14 crore for upgrading streetlights, and ₹15 crore to improve cleaning and purchasing equipment.

For air quality improvement measures, officials said they plan to spend about ₹71 crore.

“The air-quality improvement works will be taken up in the current financial year. The funds will be spent on improving bad roads, end-to-end paving to prevent road dust, improvement in greenery, and some funds will also be spent on improving solid waste management. We will purchased mechanised road sweeping machines, paving machines, and other equipment. Previously, we spent about ₹136 crore in FY 2022-23 and 2023-24 on different works to improve air-quality,” Malik said.

According to the pollution control board data, Ghaziabad’s annual average air quality index (AQI) stood at 206 in 2022; 181 in 2023, and 176 in 2024.

However, the city is also listed among the 16 “non-attainment” cities in Uttar Pradesh. Its pollution levels generally remain on the higher side during winter. To be sure, cities are declared “non-attainment” if they do not meet the national ambient air quality standards for particulate matter (PM10) or nitrogen dioxide (NO2) for a period of five years.

“The corporation should abide by measures listed under the ‘The Control of Air Pollution in Ghaziabad City’ plan by the CPCB. Instead, they are taking up works that suit their development plans. The issue of traffic congestions, bad roads, burning of garbage, etc., continues to aid pollution levels during winters,” said Sushil Raghav, a city-based environmentalist.

Corporation officials added that another set of funds of ₹106 crore will also be spent on carrying out development works in different wards. These include works for cleaning, drainage, and upgrading sewer lines. Another fund of ₹15 crore will be spent on the provision of water connections to households.