CHANDIGARH: The Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway is poised to emerge as the most intensively developed corridor in the National Capital Region (NCR).
Sources said the Draft Regional Plan-2041, which is scheduled to be discussed at the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) meeting on June 16, has officially designated the belt comprising the KMP and Eastern Peripheral Expressway as the Central NCR (CNCR) and assigned it a distinct economic identity as the ‘Golden Ring of Opportunity.’ It may be recalled that the Draft Regional Plan-2041 had received in-principle approval at the NCRPB’s 41st board meeting, which was held on October 12, 2021.
The Golden Ring is one of five policy zones identified across the NCR, alongside National Capital Territory (NCT) Delhi, highway corridor zones with transit-oriented development (TOD), natural conservation zones and the rest of NCR.
The CNCR has been accorded the highest-intensity development mandate, featuring dense mixed-use development, maximum floor area ratios, TOD clusters around transport nodes and priority infrastructure investment. Under the plan, the CNCR extends beyond Delhi to areas lying up to five kilometres outside the Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressways.
Sources said this framework effectively paves the way for five new cities. The Haryana government has already proposed developing areas along the KMP Expressway as Panchgrams, a cluster of five greenfield townships that will be detailed in the sub-regional plan.
Under the project, urban centres and new industrial townships spread across 2.5 lakh hectares will be developed within a belt extending two to six kilometres on either side of the expressway loop and will be governed by a dedicated Panchgram Development Authority. The Manesar-Bawal Investment Region, a Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC)-linked national industrial priority zone anchoring the southern stretch of the KMP, will also be integrated into all state sub-regional plans.
Multiple multimodal transport stations have also been proposed along the KMP corridor. These include a hub at Panchgaon Chowk in Manesar that will integrate the Delhi-Alwar Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS), the Gurugram-Manesar Metro and the Jhajjar-Palwal rail line, as well as another at Kherki Daula in Gurugram that will combine RRTS, metro and bus connectivity, sources said.
Loop of opportunity
KMP is set to become NCR’s biggest growth corridor, as per the plan
The KMP-Eastern Peripheral belt will form the Central NCR (CNCR)
CNCR has been named the ‘Golden Ring of Opportunity’
The proposal will be discussed on June 16
The plan had got in-principle approval five years back
Golden Ring is one of five NCR policy zones
CNCR gets the highest development priority
It extends 5 km beyond both peripheral expressways
Haryana has proposed five Panchgram townships
Development will cover 2.5 lakh hectares
Manesar-Bawal Investment Region will be integrated
Major transport hubs are planned at Panchgaon and Kherki Daula