NOIDA: The Uttar Pradesh government is considering a proposal to establish a municipal body on the lines of New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) for the industrial development areas of Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway. The dedicated structure like a Nagar Nigam will address civic issues of the three areas.
Currently, the three areas of Gautam Budh Nagar (GBN) do not have their own municipal corporations and their authorities perform the civic functions along with the development of the cities.
This is despite the fact that the Industrial Development Act of 1976 mandates that every city must have a municipal corporation of its own. The government has written to the CEOs of the three authorities asking them to submit a report on the issue without delay.
According to sources, in July, minister in charge of GBN Jai Pratap Singh recommended the setting up of a separate municipal body after redressing problems faced by stakeholders in the areas.
Singh had noted that presently, the three Authorities have to look after all municipal functions along with infrastructure, allotment of land and promoting industry because of which a lot is neglected in the three cities. Stating these problems, he wrote a letter to the UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath.
On July 14 this year on a review visit to Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway areas, Adityanath had spoken of establishing a separate municipal body after required modifications in the Industrial Development Act of 1976.
In September 2017, GBN District Magistrate B N Singh had also recommended separation of municipal functions from purview of Noida Authority.He had at the time noted that Noida needed a separate municipal body considering its close proximity with Delhi, the capital city and its burgeoning population.
E-vehicles for officials
In an attempt to curb pollution, the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) is planning to mandate 50% of vehicles used by officials to be e-vehicles. On the infrastructure front, GNIDA plans to establish an e-vehicle charging station within its premises besides 10 other stations in the first phase across the city. It will also develop no-vehicle street zones for pedestrians, which will be converted to cultural streets. “Later, more such streets will be developed to make Greater Noida a healthy and pollution-free city of the future,” said Narendra Bhooshan, CEO, GNIDA.