New Delhi, Dec 4 (PTI) Uttar Pradesh's Shamli districtwas today included in the national capital region, taking thetotal number of districts in the NCR to 23, according to anofficial statement.
Cities in the NCR get funds at "attractive" interestrates from the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB)for infrastructure development.
The decision to include Shamli in the NCR was taken atthe 37th meeting of the NCRPB held here today.
"The Board considered the proposal of the Uttar Pradeshgovernment for inclusion of Shamli district in the NCR andstated that with addition to the NCR, the provisions of theNCRPB Act will be applicable," the statement read.
Besides Delhi, there are at present 22 districts -- 13 ofHaryana, seven of Uttar Pradesh and two of Rajasthan -- in theNCR.
The meeting decided that the Aravallis are to bedelineated in the entire NCR according to the earlierdecisions of the Board and the work on natural conservationzone (NCZ) delineation needed to be expeditiously finalised bythe NCR participating states.
"The forests should be identified as per the order of theSupreme Court and the 'Aravallis' are to be delineated in theentire NCR, as per the earlier decisions of the Board," itread.
The meeting, chaired by Housing and Urban AffairsMinister Hardeep Singh Puri, was attended by Haryana ChiefMinister Manoharlal Khattar, Uttar Pradesh Urban DevelopmentMinister Suresh Kumar Khanna and Delhi Public Works DepartmentMinister Satyendra Jain, among others.
At the meeting, Puri said interest rates offered by theNCRPB for infrastructure development projects were the "mostattractive" and the Board had achieved a new feat in 2016-17by disbursing loan of Rs 1,654 crore in a single year, thehighest since its inception in 1985.
During the first nine months of the current year, theBoard had already disbursed a loan of Rs 1,276 crore and had aplan to achieve a target of Rs 2,000 crore, he said.
The Board also took stock of progress made in theRegional Rapid Transit System (RRTS).
It said a delineation study needed to be carried out forfurther inclusion or exclusion of districts in the NCR andthat states may expedite submission of their comments on broadparameters for it.
It was decided that the NCR participating states need toexpedite preparation of the sub-regional plans for newly-addeddistricts and complete the works by March 2018.
The Delhi government was asked to expedite its approvalfor a detailed project report on the Delhi-Meerut RRTScorridor, according to the statement. PTI MPGVS.
This is unedited, unformatted feed from the Press Trust of India wire.