Uttarakhand Housing Urban Development Authority
Smart city planned on 2,000-acre tea gardens in Dehradun
R Meenakshi Sundaram, chief administrator, UHUDA told TOI, "Raipur was the first option, as there was already a plan in place for a secretariat there and a road to connect it with Jolly Grant (airport) was also plannedSeema Sharma | TNN | November 09, 2015, 10:30 IST
DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand Housing Urban Development Authority (UHUDA) has selected a 2,000-acre spread of land belonging to three tea gardens in the city for developing the smart city. The authority had earlier considered three other options, but none of those worked out.
R Meenakshi Sundaram, chief administrator, UHUDA told TOI, "Raipur was the first option, as there was already a plan in place for a secretariat there and a road to connect it with Jolly Grant (airport) was also planned. However, there were many individual land owners, and it would have been difficult to acquire the land in a short time. We will undertake that exercise under land holdings at later stage, for some other project. We have however shelved this option for the smart city project."
His second option, he said, was along the Rishikesh-Jolly Grant Road, which he said appeared favourable as this is also the direction in which the city's natural growth had been taking place. The state government is already planning to shift the railway station toward this side. However, he said he found the forest spread and location of Rajaji Tiger Reserve the biggest advantage for the project. Housing and commercial projects had however come up in this stretch, which also lacked a contiguous green patch. That is why this option was ruled out.
The third option was the area beyond Selaqui, on the way to Vikasnagar. This would be some distance from the city, in an area seeing urban development. The prospect of getting a big chunk of land there was not so bright, he said.
Sundaram said he anticipated no great trouble in the acquisition of tea garden land. "There are only three or four land owners, so litigation and protest hassles will be minimal, compared to all other options. This area is also well connected with the existing city. Three or four approach roads can easily be planned for the new city. What was also a big consideration was that this was nearly the only spot where a 2,000-acre contiguous patch was available, within the city. "After gauging the legalities, this was found most suitable for the smart city project," Sundaram said.
Tags : Industry, Uttarakhand Housing Urban Development Authority, tea garden, smart city, land, Dehradun