GDA told to identify TOD zones alongside Metro corridors for Master Plan 2031

The Uttar Pradesh state officials have directed the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) to include 500 metres of transit-oriented development (TOD) zones alongside the Metro corridors, officials aware of the development said.

Officials said that once they receive notification from the state officials, the TOD zones will be defined and included in the draft Master Plan 2031.

The draft 2031 plan will likely get the final approval in the coming months, after which it will replace the existing Master Plan 2021.

To be sure, the TOD zones are a form of mixed land use zones for development of residential, commercial and other types of constructions. The concept of TOD is fast growing and aims at creating vibrant, sustainable and livable communities that are generally cantered near high-quality train systems.

Atul Vats, vice-chairperson of GDA, informed that a state-level committee recently directed that TOD zones alongside the Metro corridors be defined as TOD zones, and these are to be included in the draft Master Plan 2031.

“Once we receive notification, the TOD zones will be defined and included. Thereafter, we will open it for inviting public objections. Once the objections are disposed of, the proposal will be put forward before the GDA board, and after approval, the plan will be sent to the state government for final approval,” the official added.

The Ghaziabad city currently has two Metro corridors – a 2.1km Blue Line Metro link from Anand Vihar to Vaishali and another 9.34km Red Line Metro link from Dilshad Garden to New Bus Adda.

The GDA officials said under the state government’s new TOD policy that was rolled out last September, TOD zones have already been defined alongside the eight stations of the Regional Rapid Transit System project and also included in draft Master Plan 2031.

The 82km-long RRTS project has eight stations in Ghaziabad district – Sahibabad, Ghaziabad, Guldhar, Duhai, Duhai Depot, Muradnagar, Modinagar (south) and Modinagar (north).

“Once the TOD zones get defined and made part of draft Master Plan 2031, the plan will get a final shape and implemented. This is expected to happen in the next 2-3 months,” Vats added.

The deliberations on the new draft plan of 2031 have been going on since 2019. New areas have been defined under the new plan for Ghaziabad, Loni and Modinagar/Muradnagar. The officials, however, said that they cannot approve layout maps in newly defined areas till the draft plan gets final approval from the state government and implemented.