Construction of rapid rail bridge over Yamuna starts
NEW DELHI: The National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) has started the construction work on a 1.35-kmlong bridge on Yamuna, which will be the 17th bridge on the river. The bridge is part of the 82-km-long Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) project between Delhi and Meerut.
The bridge will run parallel to the existing Delhi Noida Direct flyway and connect Sarai Kale Khan and New Ashok Nagar RRTS stations.
A NCRTC spokesperson said, “The length of the bridge crossing over the river will be around 626 metres and the remaining portion will come up on the floodplain on both sides. We have started digging the foundation for the piers.”
This will be the eighth mass transit corridor to be constructed on the river. The Northern railway is constructing a new bridge parallel to the Old Yamuna bridge. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has four corridors crossing the river and construction on the fifth bridge, on the Majlis Park-maujpur corridor, started in August last year.
Environment expert CR Babu said, “The agency should ensure that there is no damage to the floodplain and wetlands. The agency should undertake work to restore the ecology and protect the wetland.”
A senior NCRTC official said, “All the construction activities are being carried out following the prescribed guidelines to avoid any adverse impact on the floodplains. Various eco-friendly measures will also be taken during the construction. The muck and debris will be disposed of systematically and no dumping will be done on the floodplains.”
Earlier this month, the NCRTC started work at its Anand Vihar station, one of the 22 stations on the Delhi-meerut RRTS corridor. Anand Vihar is an important transit point as it has a railway station, inter-state bus terminal and two Metro corridors --- blue line (Vaishali to Dwarka) and pink line (Majlis Park to Shiv Vihar).
NEW DELHI: The Delhi government has cleared 2,221 applications for compensation and, so far, disbursed ₹26.10 crore to victims of the communal violence in north-east Delhi in February last year, a senior government official said on Monday.
Of the 2,221 applications cleared by the government so far, 44 pertain to cases of death, 233 of injury, 731 of burnt residences, 1,176 cases of shops and commercial properties burnt and vandalised, 12 cases of vehicles damaged and loss of cattle, 22 cases of burnt slums, and three of schools that were torched and vandalised, said the official citing government records.
A second official said the government received around 3,500 compensation applications.
Also, 2,599 individuals have also approached the North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission that was set up on April 13, 2020, in adherence to an order of the Delhi high court, a month after being approached by the Delhi government which sought the court’s intervention, citing several cases of mismatches and discrepancies in claim forms.
These applications include cases in which people did not apply for compensation earlier at the revenue department offices and special camps set up by the government as well as cases pertaining to people whose claims were rejected, unpaid or partially disbursed. There are also claimants who have received the full amount but appealed that the total compensation announced by the government was inadequate.
GREATER NOIDA: The Uttar Pradesh cabinet on Monday approved a 700-acre Electronic City project near the upcoming Noida International Airport.
The first-of-its-kind project in the national capital region (NCR) is expected to help the state create a hub of electronics system design and manufacturing sector together with multiple incentives.
The Yamuna Expressway industrial development authority (Yeida) in 2020 sought the approval for the project proposed in sector 7, adjacent to the airport and along the expressway that connects Greater Noida and Agra.
“It is a matter of extremely happiness that the UP government in its annual budget has approved the project paving way for further operations to begin at the ground. Now we will ready the land and allot the same to interested companies willing to set up businesses here,” said Arun Vir Singh chief executive officer of the Yeida.
The authority has not yet set a deadline for the project or estimated cost for the project. That, officials say, will be known once detailed project report (DPR) is prepared.
“Other modalities will be worked out. We have to prepare a detailed project report and also finalise the floor area ratio that will be allowed within the sector,” said Singh.
Apart from IT industry services, outsourcing and research and development, the focus will be on attracting small, medium and big hardware manufacturers to the site due to its proximity to Dadri where multiple freight corridors and logistics hub are planned.
Film City will need Rs 10,500 cr: DPR
The Film City projected proposed at Greater Noida sector 21 will require around Rs 10,500 crore, according to the draft detailed project report (DPR).
The DPR was presented to the Yamuna expressway industrial development authority (Yeida) on Monday. The authority will now study it and send it to the state government in a week’s time.
“We will study and discuss as to how much land allocation for a particular facility was made in the DPR (and add our suggestions). Then it wil be sent to the state government for their suggestions on the financials. After that we will make changes and finalise it,” said Arun Vir Singh chief executive officer of Yeida.
Officials quoted from the 2000-page DPR that suggested mixed-land use -- residential, commercial, institutional and recreational --- will attract investment from international investors.
The DPR has also spoken on the three proposed models -public-private partnership (PPP), the authority alone, or another single developer -- to develop the project. “We will study to ascertain if the PPP model will be financially more viable. We will go by the state government’s directions on the model,” said Singh.