News: Infra, housing projects: How MCG plans to utilise urban vacant land-13-06-2022
Gurgaon: In one of its most ambitious projects to date, MCG has chalked out a plan to utilise over 224 acres of its vacant urban land to construct residential, commercial, institutional and infrastructural facilities in the city. The civic body’s mega project is expected to generate a revenue of Rs 10,000 crore, officials have said.
MCG has 918.70 acres of vacant land, of which 277.25 acres in Bajghera village are under litigation. Out of the remaining 641.45 acres, 224.77 acres fall in urban areas and the remaining 416.68 acres are agricultural land. The vacant urban land of the MCG falls in sectors 33, 35, 58, 61, 62, 65, 75, 102, 102A,103, 106, 108 and 109.
The major projects planned by the MCG include hospitals, group housing societies, commercial complexes, women’s college, electric vehicle stations, shop-cum-office spaces and sports facilities. TOI has learnt that the civic body has recently sent a proposal to the state government for an in-principle approval.
MCG’s planning department has also sent the same proposal to the councillors of all 35 wards so that more citizen-centric facilities can be created and their suggestions can be incorporated. The civic body, however, has not yet received even a single suggestion from the councillors.
“The aim, besides development, is to generate revenue for the civic body. If this land is kept unutilised or unplanned, it will be encroached upon since a major portion is in urban areas,” said Madhusmita Moitra, chief town planner, MCG. “We have already planned the projects sector-wise in urban areas and now we are also in the process of planning projects for 416.68 acres of agricultural land.”
According to the official, the patches of land are now blocked for utilisation. The civic body will soon conduct a survey to see the feasibility of these projects on ground. For example, it will have to be ascertained whether there is a demand for a petrol pump at the site where a fuel refilling station has been planned.
In Sector 33, for instance, some 7.12 acres of land is available, out of which 2.85 acres are under encroachment. For the remaining 4.27 acres of land, MCG plans to establish commercial shop-cum-office spaces, which can be sold or rented out to generate income for the civic body.
A total of 1.35 acres are available in Sector 35 where the civic body is planning to construct a veterinary hospital, multipurpose booths and roads. Sector 58 also has 1.68 acres of land vacant, where a hospital will be built over 1.5 acres. The MCG has plans to construct a group housing society, an anganwadi play school and roads over 11.1 acres of vacant land available in Sector 61.
Similarly, a multi-level parking space spread across 2.87 acres of land is being planned in Sector 62 and a nursing home on 1.48 acres of land in Sector 65. For 7.94 acres in Sector 75, MCG plans to earmark the land for a sports academy and other related facilities.
The site, however, is not accessible from a public road for which MCG will also have to find a solution.
An indoor sports stadium in Sector 102 will be constructed on 1.25 acres of land and a CNG station, a petrol pump, an EV charging station, commercial shop-cum-office spaces, and a sports stadium are planned on 22 acres of land available in Sector 102A.
A total of 34.65 acres of land is available in Sector 106 on which MCG plans to earmark plots under the Deen Dayal Jan Awas Yojna (DDJAY), and construct a working women's hostel, a commercial complex, a high school with hostel facility, an Anganwadi play school, parks, roads and extension of the existing cremation ground.
“The emphasis of this project to utilise the urban and agricultural land is to create more open spaces and bring vibrancy to the city life,” said Siddharth Sankalp, assistant town planner, MCG.
“For the utilisation of our vacant agricultural land, we are looking for a big investor who can collaborate with us to construct a state-of-the-art facility like the City Zoo of Singapore or similar projects. We want to be the first municipal corporation in India to develop such a project. This is only possible in Gurgaon where huge land parcels are available,” he added.
