Ghaziabad: The Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the NBCC (India) Limited, a Government of India enterprise, for taking up the redevelopment plan of the authority’s Tulsi Niketan housing scheme, officials said on Tuesday.
Developed in 1989-90, the scheme spans 56,639 square metres and is located adjacent to Wazirabad Road near the Delhi border. Officials said the flats have become dilapidated and unsafe due to repeated waterlogging during monsoons and years of poor maintenance.
“The Tulsi Niketan scheme currently houses 2,292 flats, 60 shops, and over 20,000 residents. The scheme’s 2,004 houses for economically weaker sections (EWS) and 288 for lower income groups (LIG) will be redeveloped with modern amenities. The GDA, in collaboration with private developers, will construct new multi-storey residential buildings on a 16-acre area. A survey by the GDA found many buildings to be dilapidated and unsafe for habitation, which is why this redevelopment process is being initiated,” the GDA said in a statement.
It also clarified that the redevelopment work will not incur any financial burden on either the authority or the allottees, and the project will be implemented on a PPP basis.
“The MoU has been signed with the NBCC (India) Limited. They will initially take up a feasibility study in next eight weeks, followed by a three-year development period on selected land parcels. NBCC will act as the project management consultant for the project and provide full technical and administrative support from planning to project completion. Under the feasibility study, the NBCC will draw plans about viability of the redevelopment project, shifting of existing occupants of the Tulsi Niketan scheme, and other issues,” said Rudresh Shukla, GDA’s media coordinator.
Nand Kishor Kalal, GDA’s vice-chairperson, did not respond to repeated calls on Tuesday.
On March 18, the GDA board approved Tulsi Niketan’s redevelopment plan, which proposes demolishing the old ground-plus-two-storey flats and replacing them with multi-storey buildings. A portion of spare land in the scheme will also be offered for new group housing development to help recover redevelopment costs.
The structural deterioration of Tulsi Niketan has been flagged in past studies.
A 2009 report by IIT Roorkee found the buildings’ condition had worsened due to lack of maintenance. In 2018, a study by Jamia Millia Islamia recommended dismantling the units, stating their retrofitting and rehabilitation would be costlier than new construction.
A recent GDA survey completed in August identified 2,292 residential flats in the scheme. Only 2.9% of occupants have registries, while 2.5% are original allottees. Residents of 50.4% of flats occupy them on the basis of power of attorney, while 13.9% are on rent.
Officials have clarified that property rights of residents will not be altered under the redevelopment plan. HT reported on August 27 that GDA completed the survey.
“We have raised several issues with the redevelopment plan. These relate to the occupancy status of present occupants and whether the same rights will be bestowed upon them when they shift to new flats. Further, we demand that the shifting of occupants should be in a phased manner. Once a residential tower comes up, occupants in old flats should be shifted out. And a similar process should be followed. We have a set of demands, and we want the GDA to assure us in writing to resolve our issues before taking up redevelopment,” said Pawan Babbar, treasurer of the Tulsi Niketan Residents’ Welfare Association.