NCR concept to get a shot in the arm

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, DEC. 20. At last it seems that the concept of National Capital Region (NCR) has received the necessary fillip to take off in a big way. The flocking of certain areas in the NCR townships by industrialists from Delhi in search of land for factories could be the signal of the beginning of an exodus from the Capital.

Information reaching here indicates that groups of business people have started looking for alternate sites in the NCR townships, including those at Kundli and Barhi in Sonepat district, Manesar in Gurgaon district and Alwar and Bhiwani in Rajasthan.

The feedback from these States indicates clearly that plots of big sizes, (600 to 1,500 sq metres), are available at half the Delhi prices. Already, it is learnt that Rs. 5.50 crores had been deposited as earnest money by some industrialists from Delhi for land purchase in Rajasthan.

In addition, the Governments of Rajasthan, Haryana and U.P. are planning to hold camps in Delhi for allotment of plots in the various industrial estates developed by them.

In fact, the Government representatives of these States had a meeting with the Urban Development Minister, Mr. Jagmohan, on Tuesday and informed him that the infrastructure for setting up new units was ready and people just had to walk in to get the necessary allotment. They said that adequate number of plots were available to accommodate the shifting units and there should be no problem in their rehabilitation.

Surprisingly, these factory owners had refused to buy any plots during the inter-face they had with the officials of the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) and Mr. Jagmohan, some time back in Delhi.

Stating that no highly polluting units would be allowed to be set up in Haryana, the officials were of the view that if these units installed the necessary anti-pollution equipment including the ETPS and CETPs, their case could be considered. It is understood that at present around 66,000 developed plots in the NCR are ready for occupation. An equal number are also expected to be developed during the new few months.

Experts feel that this was the right opportunity to push with the development of the NCR townships. It is felt that the diversion of industrial activity to adjoining States could also result in resolving, to a large extent, the problem of migration into Delhi. It is felt that the dispersal of economic activity to the NCR areas would certainly divert the flow of population and reduce the congestion in the Capital.

According to the NCRPB Member-Secretary, Ms. Sarita Das, there were around 26,000 residential plots readily available in Haryana, 24,000 in Rajasthan and 64,000 in U.P.

Similarly, more than 3,000 commercial plots were available in Haryana, 4,700 in Rajasthan and 9,500 in U.P. As for the industrial sheds, 2,500 were available in Haryana, 3,000 in Rajasthan and 6,600 in U.P.

The NCRPB has pumped in a lot of money over the years but the occupancy and economic activity has been negligible. ``How does one expect infrastructure to come up in the NCR townships when the industrialists are not ready to move in. Let them shift to the new sites and automatically things will start moving faster,'' Ms. Das added.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Other States
Previous : DDA allottees transfering plots
Next     : Fictitious names for land grab