Govt marks Rs3,000 crore for townships in Western UP

Lucknow: To meet the demand for affordable housing units in western UP, the state govt earmarked close to Rs3,000 crore. The money will benefit families staying in Agra, Mathura-Vrindavan, Moradabad and Bagpat, as developed townships with modern amenities would come up in the four cities. While one township was planned in Agra, Moradabad and Bagpat, the popular religious destination Mathura was gifted with two township projects.Approved in Jan, the money will be utilised to aggregate the land that will be required to develop the townships. The local housing development authorities forwarded the proposals to the housing department last year and sought seed capital under the UP township policy to begin work on setting up the greenfield townships. The maximum amount of funds was approved for Moradabad, where more than a dozen villages will be acquired to develop the 1,250-wide residential layout. The money, Rs1,373 crore, will be pooled in by the housing department and the Moradabad Development Authority. "Deliberations and talks are ongoing between the local administration and farmers from the Didaura locality. We are trying to convince the farmers by publicising the benefits being provided through the land pooling policy," said the officer.
In Mathura, the townships would be developed in Chhata and Rahimpur localities, which are situated at a distance of almost 40km, with a total budget of Rs780 crore. In Agra, Rahankalan, a locality situated between the Agra core city and Etmadpur, was chosen, where Rs750 crore would be infused to take over the land and establish the township. In Bagpat, land will be taken over in Tatiri village with the remaining funds. Officials said that the road network, sewerage system, drinking water supply to households and power supply would be provided, and both flats and row houses will be developed.