The long overdue handover of Indirapuram township to Ghaziabad municipal corporation may take effect by end-July, officials of the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) said on Monday.
They estimate that the authority may need to pay the civic body an amount of ₹150-200 crore towards upgrade of civic infrastructure.
The Indirapuram township was developed by GDA in the 1980s is spread over an area of about 1,200 acres. Its handover to the corporation has been delayed for almost a decade, despite several deliberations by officials.
The corporation maintains that it needs funds to upgrade the civic infrastructure in Indirapuram before it takes over the township.
Earlier in May, the authority had formed a team of 15 officials from GDA and the municipal corporation and they were to assess the pending infrastructure work in the township.
“Except for the assessing the sewage system, everyhting else has been completed. A meeting of heads of GDA and the municipal corporation will take place this month before a final decision is taken. Upgrade of sewage requires a detailed assessment and will be completed soon. Thereafter, the proposal will be taken before the GDA board for approval. It is expected that a final decision on handover can take place by end of July, once the GDA board approves the proposal,” said Atul Vats, vice-chairperson, GDA.
The officials estimate that the civic infrastructure upgrade in Indirapuram may involve funds of ₹150-200 crore.
“The assessment of roads, streetlights, cleaning, horticulture, etc., has been completed. A final assessment of funds is being done to arrive at a final figure,” Vats said.
Indirapuram was developed by the authority about 30 years ago and it has been trying to hand over the locality to the civic body since 2011-12.
Indirapuram’s handover was delayed time and again over the contentious issue of funds. In March, 2023, the GDA urged the municipal corporation to expedite Indirapuram’s takeover before the local body elections.
To assess the required upgrade of facilities, officials of both the departments earlier conducted a joint inspection in January 2022.
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It was then estimated that the corporation would need about ₹288 crore from the authority to upgrade certain facilities before it takes over the township. But GDA officials maintained that this was an incorrect estimate.
Another joint survey was ordered in April 2023. But the issue of handover remained pending.
In May, 2022, the corporation board approved partial takeover of three services – horticulture, streetlights and cleaning activities. However, again, the process got held up over the issue of funds.
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Vikramaditya Malik, municipal commissioner, could not be reached for comment on Monday.
Currently, the services in Indirapuram are maintained by GDA and it collects user charges from residents while the corporation charges property tax from households.
“Seven residential wards will benefit once the municipal corporation takes over services. The corporation is a specialised agency for maintenance of civic services and infrastructure. The demand for handover is long pending and with the latest development, we expect that things will move forward in the next one or two months,” said Sanjay Singh, councillor of ward 100, Shipra Sun City, Indirapuram.
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