Funds-starved Indirapuram may finally go to civic body next mth

Ghaziabad: Residents of Indirapuram can expect the town’s civic amenities to see an improvement as a protracted deadlock between two govt agencies shows signs of a resolution soon.The handover from Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) to the corporation might take place as early as July, officials said. A joint survey by the corporation (GMC) and GDA is in the final stages and cost estimates will be drawn up shortly, which will pave the way for the handover.

“In May this year, a 15-member committee comprising GDA and GMC officials was constituted, which in the last month has met a number of times. A joint survey of the town is being done by the team, which also includes a drone survey. While reports from the civil, horticulture and health departments have been submitted, the report from the water works department is awaited. Once it comes, a final cost estimation will be done, and on that basis, the handover process will be executed, possibly by the end of next month,” said Atul Vats, vice-chairperson, GDA.Asked about earlier estimates that GDA would have to pay around Rs 365 crore to GMC for the handover to take place, Vats said, “GDA has about Rs 70 crore in its coffers and the demand should be reasonable and valid. So far, we haven’t reached a consensus as to how much money GDA will pay GMC, but the development authority’s financial condition will have to be taken into consideration for the handover to take place.”Municipal commissioner Vikramaditya Singh Malik said, “The GMC board has authorised the mayor and municipal commissioner to decide on the amount, and once the joint survey is completed, an amount will be decided. This issue is between govt departments, and the handover will take place by consensus, which will be vetted by the state govt.”The deadlock over the cost of the handover was brought to the notice of chief minister Yogi Adityanath in Dec last year. The CM had set a Feb 2024 deadline for a resolution. However, with the model code coming into effect in Mar for the general elections, there was little progress over the past two months.Before 2016, the Indirapuram township used to be under one ward, Makanpur. After delimitation, the township was divided into seven wards. As a rule, GMC releases development funds to each ward, but since handover to GMC did not take place, the corporation did not issue development funds.This became a sore point for tax-paying residents of the township as well as councillors who complained they could take up no civic work.With borders with Delhi and Noida, Indirapuram is the busiest among trans-Hindon towns, but several of its roads have turned into an overcrowded mess because of encroachments and unregulated parking. Drainage, garbage and upkeep of roads are other struggles for the town, which has been built across 1,222 acres.The GDA, a development authority, develops a township and hands it over to the corporation. GMC, however, insisted there was much work related to roads, sewer, electricity and other amenities GDA needed to complete or give the corporation the cash to do so. GDA argued GMC already collects house tax and has no claim on funds. GMC allocates funds to each ward, ranging from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore, to carry out development work.