Will a new parking policy help traffic congestion in Noida?

With the objective of reducing traffic congestion due to unauthorised parking, Noida Authority has decided to hire agencies to manage parking across the city. These agencies will control operations at 95 parking lots in 43 sectors of Noida, starting December.

Noida Authority studied the parking policies of Pune, Mumbai and Delhi, along with parking arrangements in European countries, to come up with this new parking policy.

Earlier there were only 41 authorised parking lots in Noida. Due to illegal parking on roads, sectors such as 2, 6, 7, 16, 18, 41, 50, 58 and 59 frequently got choked.

“At present, the Authority has 41 authorised roadside parking locations. But these contracts will be over by the end of November. It will then give new parking lot contracts to agencies through an e-tender in October. Our objective is to take steps to reduce traffic congestion,” said Sandip Chandra, senior project engineer at Noida Authority.

As per the new parking policy, the Authority will charge Rs 20 for four-wheelers for the first two hours, and then increase the charges depending on the time the vehicle is parked. In the old policy, Noida Authority charged Rs 20 for four-wheeler parking and Rs 10 for two-wheeler parking for 14 hours (9 am to 11 pm) along market roads.

“Under the new parking policy, parking of 35,000 vehicles in the city has been arranged in public places. No parking area will be introduced within 50 m of an intersection. Even in corner plots, there will be no parking that will pose a problem for vehicles taking a turn,” Chandra added.

Authority officials said that congestion occurred mainly when contractors took up more parking space than allotted to them.

“We will ensure that all parking attendants use handheld electronic devices to issue parking slips to maintain transparency. And we will mark the authorised areas with yellow paint. If a contractor is found going beyond this area, we will take action as per policy,” said Chandra.

The Authority has divided the city into four zones, into which the new 95 parking lots will be included. “We will hire four contractors to manage these four zones,” he said.

At present, Noida Authority uses 1,68,000 sq m of land for parking in various sectors. Under the new policy, the area has been increased to 4,42,000 sq m. It has also been decided that parking will be restricted to one lane only. For this, 4 m will be allotted on the road, marked by Noida Authority.

As for temporary parking for any event, prior permission will have to be sought from Noida Authority. For this, the prescribed fee will also have to be deposited prior. The parking rate of the sector and the place available will be determined by the Authority.

Here are the penalties for violating parking rules:

1. If a vehicle is parked outside the parking lot: Rs 500 per vehicle

2. Not having an electronic machine or giving false prints: Rs 500 per machine per day

3. On overcharging for parking: Rs 500 per vehicle

4. Not being in the prescribed dress code: Rs 1,000 per employee per day

5. Not having the information board, or an information board with broken or information incorrect: Rs 1,000 per board per day

6. On non-availability of complaint book: Rs 1,000 per consumer per day

7. On non-availability of account book: Rs 1,000 per day

8. On repeated violation of rules: Cancellation of tender for the entire parking area or parts of it

GreNo homebuyers lodge FIR against builder Shubhkamna Buildtech

Homebuyers have lodged an FIR against Shubhkamna Buildtech Pvt Ltd at Bisrakh police station yesterday for delaying possession of flats.

The director of the firm, Piyush Tiwari, and nine others — including the co-directors and the chairman — have been named in the FIR.

Bisrakh police has registered a case under Sections 406 and 420 of the IPC.

At least a group of 50 homebuyers gathered at the police station yesterday and staged a demonstration against the builder for not handing over the flats as promised.

Following the directives of UP CM Yogi Adityanath, the district police has now started lodging FIRs against errant builders.

In September, the district police lodged 13 FIRs against six real estate developers in Noida and Greater Noida.

Sanjay Maheshwari, one of the homebuyers in Shubhkamna City in Sector 1 of Greater Noida (West), alleged that the developers had promised to hand over the finished flats by October 2016.

“Around 780 homebuyers had booked flats in Shubhkamna City in 2010-11. In the last six years, the buyers have paid 80 – 95 per cent of the amount of the flat,  but the residential towers are nowhere near complete,” lashed out Maheshwari, also a member of Noida Extension Flat Owners’ Main Association (NEFOMA).

 “We had made several requests to Greater Noida Authority, but they did not initiate any action against the builder. For the past one year, construction work at the site has been completely stopped and the developers are at large,” Maheshwari added.

Dwarka: A good friend listens, as do these police ‘mitras’

To bridge the gap between the community and the police, and to involve the civil society in policing, Delhi police had launched a scheme, Police Mitra, almost a year back in November 2016. Police Mitras, people selected from the community, are now visiting parks across the sub-city to establish a close connect with people, especially senior citizens.

Talking to City Spidey, Dwarka ACP Rajendra Singh said, “As a first measure, we have selected about 100 popular parks for our police mitras. We want to build a strong bond with the community. Each police mitra has been assigned two parks close to home. They are to meet people and know their problems —build the image of police and policing as part of the community. At present, we have assigned 45 police mitras for the sub-city.”

According to the ACP, “The mitras are meeting senior citizens in the park — making a list of areas that don’t have proper lighting; finding out whether streetlights function or not. On the whole, we are making efforts to build some sort of relation with the people. The police mitras are from the same locality, so they are known faces. So, it’s an effective way of policing. “Buddy Patrolling” is also happening at the same time, where buddy riders, or policemen on cycles, are meeting people in the parks.”

The initiative was launched by the then Commissioner of Delhi Police Alok Kumar Verma (IPS) at Sector 10, Dwarka, in the south-west police range of Delhi. A total of 284 police mitras, including 49 females, were enrolled in this scheme.

 The aim was to involve members of the civil society in prevention of crime, maintenance of law and order and improve communication with police to ensure a safer society.

Dwarka: Why the road through Sector 11 is a nightmare...

Of late, residents of Sector 11 have been having a tough time due to dust and uneven surface of the road passing through the sector. The road, located near KM Chowk and approaching Sector 11 Metro Station and Lal Bahadur Shastri School of Management, sees a lot of thoroughfare.

The stretch has had its whole surface scraped off by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) for repair work, however, the work was left midway and it has been lying in that condition since then. This has been causing the commuters and residents of nearby societies, such as Seema Apartments, Modest Ketki Apartments and Ashoka Enclave, a great deal of trouble. Dwarka News

President of Seema Apartments, Arun Singh, said, “The DDA started repairing this road just after the rainy season due to potholes. However, after scratching off the surface and dumping the malba on roadside and central verge, the work just stopped. It’s been around one-and-a-half months since then. We are suffering needlessly. This matter should be taken up seriously by the authorities, and repair work should be restarted and finished as soon as possible.”

According to the commuters and residents, travelling through the stretch has become an onerous task. Aprajita Gautam, a resident of Ashoka Enclave, said, “This is sheer negligence on the part of DDA. Commuting on this road even in a four-wheeler is difficult, think about those on two-wheelers! There have been some minor incidents as well.” Apartment management system

General secretary of Dwarka Forum and a resident of Shubham Apartments Sector 12, SK Goel, who has been following up the subject with the DDA, told City Spidey, "It is extremely surprising that instead of repairing some potholes, the whole stretch was scratched off. A cost of Rs 53 lakh for a small length of stretch like this one raises doubts! Furthermore, even after spending such a huge sum, people have been left to negotiate even worse conditions. This is a clear case of mismanagement —instead of timely and cost-efficient repair of potholes, the situation was rendered worse due to bad decisions."

New elevated stretch near Iffco Chowk cuts travel time from 30 mins to 5 mins!

Making a U-turn from Iffco Chowk has now become easy. The new elevated road that provides a route for vehicles to turn towards Shankar Chowk has cut travel time by almost 25 minutes. The construction of the elevated road, which took almost six months, has come as a huge relief for almost 1 lakh commuters. 

One of the most congested crossings of Gurgaon, Iffco Chowk bears the brunt of incoming traffic from all sides of the city. Making a U-turn or crossing over to continue on the highway towards Jaipur has for a long time been a huge challenge for commuters. While the newly built elevated stretch has resolved the challenge of the U-turn, there is still no solution for easily proceeding on the Jaipur highway.

“I used the elevated road recently and was stunned to see that now instead of 30 minutes — which was the case earlier — one needs only five minutes to travel the entire distance of this crossing. Moreover, the beautiful, smoothly constructed road is a pleasure to drive on,” said Dinesh Chauhan, a resident of Iffco Colony.

“The completion of the pedestrian bridge and underpass will result in further decongestion of traffic,” said Rakesh Sharma, a cab driver.

Construction of another elevated stretch on the other side that will facilitate a U-turn towards Jaipur is now nearing completion. This should also substantially reduce the traffic load at Iffco Chowk.

Noida Authority to introduce a three pronged policy to curb traffic congestion

To curb the problem of traffic congestion in the city, the chairman chief executive officer (CCEO) of Noida Authority had addressed a meeting of stakeholders today.

Traffic police representatives told City Spidey that in a bid to streamline vehicular movement across the city, the CCEO has declared that a three pronged traffic policy shall be introduced shortly.  

RK Mishra, additional CEO of Noida Authority said that during the meeting the specific reasons behind the growing traffic congestion like encroachments, haphazard parkings and dysfunctional traffic signals were elaborately discussed. “We have decided to construct U-turns and foot over bridges at different places to ease the traffic situation,” he added. Noida news

Mishra also said that the CCEO has ordered that all dysfunctional traffic signals should be immediately repaired.

The soon to be introduced traffic policy is three pronged because it includes objectives for the short, medium and long term.

For the short term, a major focus is incorporating 16 left turns on the main roads. Removing all encroachments from the roads, introducing a parking policy for mall and restaurants, removing trees and electric poles that are inconveniencing commuters, fixing potholes and ensuring the use of foot over bridges (by pedestrians) are essentially the short term objectives. There will be an emphasis on ensuring the use of foot over bridges near prominent locations like for instance the Botanical Garden and Expressway. Apartment management system

In the medium term the primary goal is to identify under construction roads that connect the main roads to the rural areas. The construction of these roads have been stalled on account of issues and protests raised by farmers. The attempt will be to resolve all these issues through a policy and start the pending construction.

According to officials of Noida Authority, the long term goals are about ensuring that traffic congestion does not occur in the three master plan roads, DSC Road and the elevated road. The construction of an elevated road on Shahdara Drain to Rajnigandha Chowk was also discussed in the meeting. 

Road roko stir lands Gurgaon residents in trouble

Residents of Park View Residency and Mahindra Aura are in a state of shock after Gurgaon Police booked them for unruly behaviour and for stopping traffic as a form of protest about two weeks back. They were protesting against illegal encroachments and construction work adding to pollution in the area and leading to breathing problems for the citizens.

Now, the residents of high-rise buildings and residential colonies like Palam Vihar are wondering if holding peaceful protests can be such a crime. Gurgaon breaking news

Palam Vihar residents have been complaining of various respiratory illnesses due to construction work around their condominium and the state of the incomplete road outside their society. On October 20, to highlight this problem, residents gathered outside the building and held a demonstration, only to find that the police had booked them instead.

The residents had blocked the road after several pleas to the administration, the police and the union ministries had failed to evoke any positive response.

"We had just wanted to be heard. However, the police, rather than helping us, backstabbed residents of Park View Residency and Mahindra Aura. The police officials present were instructed to monitor the construction work and report any illegal encroachments to the concerned departments. What shocked us was the following day, when an FIR was lodged and severe charges brought against innocent residents who were demanding their right to breathe and to lead a healthy life,” said Rajnish Talwar, treasurer, RWA Park View Residency.  

However, in this case, the police tell a different version.

Sandeep Khirwar, commissioner of police, told City Spidey that “blocking roads is not permitted and normally we do register cases when people block roads. An FIR is just a summary of allegations and is not the last word. If they are not guilty of certain charges, they will not be implicated.” Apartment management system

The residents, however, took the protest route only when nothing else worked, the residents said.

"SDM Bharat Bhushan Gogia arrived at the time of protest on October 20 and gave an assurance that issues would be resolved. The police also promised action but the FIR left us totally stunned. Where does one go when no one is listening to us?” asked Vikas Dhull, a member of the RWA.

However, sticking to his stand, Khirwar said, “You can have a peaceful protest or agitation in designated places, but yes, blocking of roads is illegal restraint and IPC sections 28, 341 and a lot more are applicable, so we registered a case.”

With the residents raising a hue and cry, state PWD minister Narbir Singh has assured residents that police will not visit them on this case in future.

But the residents are still wondering if protest as a right was compromised and defeated in the process.

Matiala MLA promises to remove liquor vend from Sector 6 Dwarka market

Residents of Sector 6, Dwarka, voted to remove a wine and beer shop from the Post Office market in the locality. On Sunday, they voted against the continuation of the shop, as it was leading to public nuisance in the area.

The residents have been campaigning against the liquor vend for quite some time now and had also raised the issue during a public hearing held by Matiala MLA Gulab Singh Yadav recently. Nearly 100 residents participated in the public hearing held in a Sector 6 park, adjacent to the market.

The public hearing was held in deference to the wishes of the people, Yadav told City Spidey, "The removal of the liquor vend from the market has been a long-pending demand of the people. I assure that the shop will be removed.” Dwarka News

Many residents got a chance to interact with the MLA and apprise him of the civic problems they face, such as problems regarding inflated water bills generated by Delhi Jal Board, and issues of security and insufficient lighting. Apartment management system

Satish Sharma, president of Diamond Square Apartments, Sector 6, told City Spidey, “This public hearing is a good initiative and I hope the issues will be resolved. I also expect the removal of the beer shop, as promised by the MLA. We have also taken the signatures of 535 people to achieve this objective. More are expected to sign the petition.”

Pradeep Bansal, a social worker and a resident of Katyayani Apartments, Sector 6, has been on the forefront of the campaign against the beer shop for a long time. “We have been raising this issue since 2010. The people's voice has given more strength to the campaign.”

MLA Yadav said a video recording of the public hearing will be sent to Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, requesting action. 

Five Noida sectors to oppose NGT nod to garbage dumpsite in Sec 123

Residents in sectors 119, 120, 121 and 122, Noida, are aghast at the authority decision to shift its garbage dumpsite from Sector 138A to Sector 123 in utter disregard to the health risk it poses.

The residents, who held a protest on Sunday, are contemplating all-round action to prevent the proposed landfill in their neighbourhood.

The decision, being taken with a go-ahead from National Green Tribunal (NGT), has come as a shocker for residents here, as it poses the same risk as when it was in Sector 138A.

Abhay Pandey, a resident of Homes 121, a residential society in Sector 121, Noida, told City Spidey that the dumpsite, whether temporary or otherwise, would be hazardous to residents’ health. There are, he said, more than 30,000 families living in sectors 117 through 122. “The dumpsite and the future waste-to-energy plant will only aggravate air pollution and contaminate groundwater,” he added. Noida News

“Noida Authority should think about the residents in the area. How can NGT just order a temporary garbage dump in Sector 123 when it had, in 2013, itself said that Noida Authority could not use it either as a dump or as a waste treatment plant until it complied with the municipal solid waste management rules?” Pandey questioned.

“How can Noida Authority dump waste at a site only a few metres from residential clusters and just next to the Hindon riverbed? We are talking to all concerned residents to come out against this illegal move,” Pandey added. Apartment management system

About half a dozen housing complexes and three villages are located near the proposed garbage dump.

Homes 121 is located 175 m from the landfill site in the west and the Hindon floodplains are located a few metres on the eastern side. To the south of the site is a proposed national highway, earlier known as the Faridabad-Noida-Ghaziabad (FNG) Expressway, and to the northwest is Gadi Chaukhandi village, located within 9 m.

According to the solid waste management rules, 2016, a landfill site should be 100 m from a riverbed, and 200 m from water bodies, highways, habitations, public parks and water supply wells. Also, landfills are not permitted near floodplains and should be at least 20 km from airports.

“Look at the pollution levels around the Ghazipur landfill site in Delhi. We will experience the same polluted air, bacteria and hazardous gases if a landfill site is allowed in Sector 123,” Pandey added.

Gurgaon developer booked after third-floor balcony collapses

Developer apartments have always been notorious for weak construction. This was reiterated last week when a utility balcony on the third floor of Umang Breeze, a condominium in Sector 78, Gurgaon, collapsed. The balcony was situated near the kitchen of Flat K304.

Shocked residents lodged a complaint with the town and country planning department, alleging negligence on the builder’s part.

Members of the RWA have also reported the incident to the station house officer of Kherki Daula police station and filed a complaint against the developer.

“A family of four, including two children, lives on the floor from where this balcony fell," said Deepal Bansal, secretary of the RWA. "Although there have been no casualties, the residents are in a state of shock. A general advisory has been issued by the RWA on the advice of the local administration. Residents have been advised not to use their balconies till a detailed inspection has been conducted by a third party.”

"There have also been considerable structural damages to the flats below," she added.  

In this residential complex, most of the balconies are supported by struts.

“I was about to go to the utility balcony for some work, and suddenly I heard a thundering sound, and before I knew what was happening, I saw that it had given way. I panicked and shouted for help, as I wasn’t sure if there were any residents on the floor below. Thankfully, there was nobody there at the time," said Divya Jha, owner of K304.

For some time, residents of this society have been raising concerns over the quality of construction. However, the local administration has not taken any action.

Pradeep Yadav, president of the RWA, said, “For the past four years, we have been requesting the developer to give us all the amenities he had promised. However, there have been no results. We have submitted a complaint about this to the town and country planning office. We have repeatedly asked the developer to provide compliance certificates, structure stability certificates and lift licences. However, we haven’t received anything. Now residents live in fear of their lives, as the builder has seriously compromised the building’s safety,” Yadav said.

The station house officer of Kherki Daula police station has started an investigation into the incident. “We have registered a case against the developer for negligence and will take appropriate action against him,” said Yashwant Singh, SHO, Kherki Daula police station.

What troubles a pedestrian in Dwarka

Footpaths are meant to aid pedestrian movement, but not so in Dwarka. Dense wild growth, open manholes and, of course, unattended garbage have rendered the footpaths in the sub-city useless.   

Sectors 3,4,7,8,12,13,17,18 and several others bear testimony to the sad truth.

Residents claim that the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) didn’t carry out a clearing out of the footpaths after the rainy season — even though the plants on the central verge along master plan roads were all given a mandatory pruning. Dwarka News

SS Jha, a resident of Sector 4, said, "In Dwarka, the footpaths are of no use. Wild grass, waste, open manholes have made them useless. The footpaths look like jungles now! And the authorities are twiddling their thumbs.”

RWA President of Sector 8, PS Dhunta, said, "The condition is very bad in Sectors 7, 8 and 9. In Sector 8, the stretch from the chowk near the National Institute of Malaria Research to the chowk near Sectors 7 and 9 needs cleaning. I have informed the DDA, but there has been no action on their part."

When City Spidey contacted the DDA officials, they said pruning is happening in the sub-city, and cleaning of footpaths has also begun.

Saplings planted in Ahinsa Khand II uprooted, tree guards removed

Green is difficult to come by, and when saplings planted not too long ago are left uprooted, it feels criminal. At least, that’s how the residents of Ahinsa Khand II in Indirapuram are feeling at the moment.

“We had planted saplings and also arranged tree guards from various sources after much running around. But we were disheartened to see them uprooted. Even the tree guards have been taken away,” said a resident of Ahinsa Khand II, who was part of sapling-planting drives in the area.

Speaking to City Spidey, Jayati Jain, a resident of the Indirapuram, said the local vendors of the area are the usual suspects. Jain further said, “The tree guards were removed, and this exposed the young plants to stray cattle.”

Maintenance staff of societies deputed by RWAs prune the growth on the central verge

Another Ahinsa Khand II resident, Urvi Shah, lamented, “There was this one beautiful Kadamba [Neolamarckia cadamba] plant that we had planted in front of Gulmohar Residency. The plant was growing really well. One morning we found it uprooted and the tree guard gone. It really hurt! And we don’t know who could have done such a thing!”

The residents have urged the RWAs of the neighbourhood to depute maintenance staff to take care of the plants. “The staff has, in fact, started watering and pruning the decorative plants,” said a resident.

Besides the damaged green, there are other spots of bother as well.

Shah said authorities don’t bother to clean up after conducting anti-encroachment drives — the debris is simply left behind! “This gives a rather weary look to the entire neighbourhood,” she added.

The aftermath of an anti-encroachment drive

In the absence of a public urinal in the place, a lot of locals — auto drivers, vendors and rickshaw pullers — use certain spots for defecating, leaving the place stinking to the high heavens.

With all these ills, can the place every hope to look clean, as envisaged in the concept of Swachh Bharat? 

Authorities, listening?

One sector's ban, another sector's bane: The case of the shifting Noida dumpsite

Noida MLA Pankaj Singh on Tuesday visited the newly designated Sector 123 garbage dump to assure residents of nearby societies that he would discuss the site with Noida Authority. Since NGT’s decision last week to stop garbage dumping in Sector 138A and instead use Sector 123 as a temporary dumpsite, residents have been raising a stink.

NGT also directed Noida Authority to develop a waste-to-energy plant at the site within six months.

Abhay Pandey, a resident of Homes 121, a residential society in Sector 121, Noida, told City Spidey that the dumpsite, whether temporary or otherwise, would be hazardous to residents’ health. There are, he said, more than 30,000 families living in sectors 117 through 122. “The dumpsite and the future waste-to-energy plant will only aggravate air pollution and contaminate groundwater,” he added. “Noida Authority should think about the residents in the area. How can NGT just order a temporary garbage dump in Sector 123 when it had, in 2013, itself said that Noida Authority could not use it either as a dump or as a waste treatment plant until it complied with the municipal solid waste management rules?” Noida News

Interestingly, Noida Authority in 2016 had also responded to an RTI query on the dumpsite, admitting that it could not be used as a landfill on environmental grounds.

"MLA Singh assured us that he would talk to Authority officials to shift the site elsewhere, but we are planning to file a case with NGT nonetheless,” Pandey further said. Apartment management system

Incidentally, Noida and Greater Noida authorities had designated a 110-acre site at Astoli in Greater Noida as a solid waste dumping ground, but instead of making that functional, they have been coming up with temporary ways of disposing waste.

When City Spidey spoke to RK Mishra, additional CEO of Noida Authority, he said that the Sector 123 dumpyard would in no way affect the health of residents as it is quite a distance away from all neighbouring societies.

However, according to residents, especially of Homes 121, the dump is no more than 200 metres from their society.