Tractor -trolley overturned carrying Namaji's ....2 killed, 27 injured in Greater Noida accident

Two people were killed and 27 seriously injured on Thursday when the tractor-trolley they were riding overturned.

The incident took place around 8.45 a.m. when the tractor-trolley driver was driving at high speed and the vehicle overturned near Kasna Village.

About 35 people were riding the tractor’s trolley. Of them, two people - Mohammad Farooq (35) and Raj (32) - were killed and 27 people were seriously injured.

Abdul Sheikh, who was injured, said the vehicle was being driven at high speed and when it overturned, the passengers were thrown in the air before falling on the road.

Most of these people were working as contract labourers at the construction sites of Unitech near Birondi-Bironda village and hailed from Bihar and West Bengal.

The police claimed on Tuesday to have identified four people involved in the lynching of the Graziano Trasmissioni India CEO, Lalit Kishore Chaudhary, last week.

"We have identified four people. We are going to take them into custody," inspector general of police Gurdarshan Singh said. "The prosecution has been asked to move an application before the court to take them into police custody."

Brain behin the show (standing) Shri Aditya Ghildyal President of AGNI (Representing New Holland Tractors)

District administration has asked industries here to submit their applications for arms licences, even as the police and civil authorities reassured industrialists about their safety following the murder of the CEO.

Smiling faces of industrialists in Greater Noida...curiously listening of bigwigs of Police and District Administration..

The authorities also promised to issue green cards to industrialists for uninterrupted vehicular movement in the district.

The administration asked the industrialists to identify unregistered trade unions in this industrial area.

Under fire for not providing adequate security to businessmen and senior executives in Greater Noida, the police today swung into action and are learnt to have said that business rivalry could be a motive behind the murder of Graziano Transmissioni CEO Lalit Kumar Chowdhury on September 23.

Association of Greater Noida Industries (AGNI) president Aditya Ghildyal, who was present at a meeting with the police, said, “The murder of Lalit Kumar Chowdhury should be solved at the earliest. The culprits should be put behind the bars without any delay.”

Meanwhile, the UP police, accused of having a laid-back attitude by the industrialists and the locals alike, will now be on its toes as a software developed by HCL will make it impossible for the cops to ignore calls made by distressed industrialists.

If a call to the local police station is not attended at the fourth ring, the fifth ring would land up at the mobile phone of the senior superintendent of police and the sixth ring will be transferred to the mobile phone of the director general of police. “The police should respond immediately to the calls. However, it is not the case with the UP police,” said a senior executive of a Greater Noida-based MNC.

AGNI, which is spearheading the demands of Gautam Buddha Nagar industries, has come out with a 19-point agenda to be fulfilled by the UP administration and police. The demands include allowing industrialists to keep licensed revolvers. “The licensed revolver will help us save ourselves,” said Ghildyal.

In a relief to the workers who travel in the company bus, the UP police has assured that no bus would be stopped for checking at night. It had been alleged that checking at night is done to take bribes from the company as well as the bus operator. “Our buses go daily from the same route. If the police want to check our vehicles, they should do so during day hours. At night, the only purpose of the police is to get their palms greased,” said Ghildyal.

Due to security concerns, the Congress president flew in a helicopter to the rally site. She was accompanied by Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

Addressing the rather thinly attended Kisan Majdoor rally in Dadrir on Tuesday, Sonia Gandhi accused the state government of hampering the economic development of Gautam Buddha Nagar. “Indira Gandhi envisioned the development of Noida and Greater Noida as industrial hubs where not only Indians but also international companies would vie to invest.Rajiv Gandhi took the task forward for which Mayawati claimed the credit. Apart from being unable to support the industry, the UP government has, in fact, earned the reputation of being anti-farmer and anti-poor,” she alleged.

The UPA chairperson linked the nuclear deal to the development of Gautam Buddha Nagar and the country. “The problem of electricity and water to industry will be solved once we are able to generate nuclear power,” she added.

Four days after a top executive of an Italian company was bludgeoned to death in Noida, the India head of a US-based software firm was dragged out of his car and beaten up here.
Mr Kashir Dwivedi, 37, chief executive officer (CEO) of Expedience e-solutions India Ltd, was waylaid last night as he was driving to a temple.

Mr Dwivedi was dragged out of his car by at least four men, and beaten badly with an iron rod. The men apparently tried to kidnap him, but fled as a crowd had gathered.

Reacting to the incident, India Inc warned today that investment would be pulled out of Noida, if authorities did not provide security.
“If the confidence of the investors has to be restored, the state should ensure law and order so that industrial units may work without any fear,” said Mr Aditya Ghildyal, president of the Association of Greater Noida Industries Association.

As a fall-out of the lynching of the CEO of Graziano Transmission by dismissed employees in the company’s Greater Noida premises on Monday and bowing to the demands of industrialists, the UP police has decided to set up a special cell to handle cases of industrial disputes.

SSP Shri R.K.Chaturvedi, Shri Shravan Kumar Sharma, DM Gautam Buddha Nagar, Representative of New Holland Tractors...Organiser of the Meeting Shri Aditya Ghildyal, Vice President of Association of Greater Noida Industries... 150 representatives attended the meeting

“The new industrial cell within the police will be headed by an official of Deputy SP rank. The officers engaged in this cell will be responsible only for industrial disputes,” said the SSP of Gautam Buddha Nagar, Mr R K Chaturvedi. “Police does not get training to handle industrial disputes which are very different from normal law and order situations that we are accustomed to handle. We will set up this cell by the month end,” he added.

The killing of L K Chaudhary has shocked industrialists. Members of the Association of Greater Noida Industries met district officials and expressed their concern over the CEO’s killing. They also demanded a special cell to deal with labour issues.“They have agreed to our demand for a special industrial disputes cell. It will be headed by a Circle Officer. Industrialists can contact it whenever there are problems regarding security issues,” said Mr Aditya Ghildiyal, president, Association of Greater Noida Industrialists. The next meeting between the authorities and the Association will take place on 30 September.

“The current law and order situation has left us deeply shocked. The statement made by Union labour minister, Mr Oscar Fernandes, has resulted in a lot of resentment among the industrialists here. Whatever be the reasons, you can’t kill a person. Mr Fernandes who was supposed to visit the site today cancelled it, fearing huge protests,” said Mr Ghildiyal.

“The company will continue to operate. There is no question of a shut-down or moving out as of now,” the human resources head of Graziano Transmission, Mr L K Gupta, said after the company’s meeting chaired by its segment CEO, Mr Marcello Lamberto. “Chaudhury has brought this company to such heights. We cannot let his efforts go in vain,” he said.

Earlier in the day, Mr Lamberto chaired a company meeting and later went to Chaudhury’s residence at Sector-30 in Noida to meet his family members. He also went to Kailash Hospital where the injured executives, a vice-president and assistant human resource manager) and workers have been admitted.

"The Greater Noida is a great dream for those who came to live here. This dream is loosing its shine. The night is dark and even the day is getting murky. The toll of deaths is frightening. Suffering power loss, water irregularity has been added the litany of people killed . Farmers killed. Lovers killed. CEO killed. 55 killed already on what is called our life line ,The Expressway or is it The Killerway no?. Why is all this happenning? What is grinding our dreams into dust. Please manage this place. Do not wait too long. People are impatient."..Shantonu Sen, First Resident of Greater Noida.

I am working in an MNC in greater noida from last 3 years.This city always has concerns about security.Most people wants to stay in some society (having security provided by society) instead of looking for independent houses.We can see lot of cases of thefts in sectors and snaching near LG.In my company even though its in greater noida only 5 % employees prefer to live in greater noida because of security reasons

These kind of incidents will definitely cause defame to the city and many more people will opt to be out of this city.I rarely see any police man (unless some bad incident happened in the city) in the market and public places.Would like to remind of the incedent that happend in a college in which a student was shot dead by his local friends.Authority should provide more security in the city specially in places which are more prone to these type of incidents...Asish Gupta, Greater Noida.

L.K. Choudhary, the managing director of an Indian subsidiary of an Italy-based company in the industrial area of Greater Noida, adjacent to the national capital, was beaten to death by irate retrenched workers Monday.

Choudhary, heading auto components manufacturer Cerlikon-Graziano Transmissions India Pvt Ltd, was lynched at around 12.30 p.m. when about 150 workers who had been retrenched barged into the factory premises in block 14 of Udyog Kendra in Greater Noida.

Earlier in the day, factory sources said, a mob brutally beat over 50 workers with iron rods, hockey sticks and heavy axles, resulting in heavy bloodshed. Five workers sustained fractures in skulls, legs and arms, they said.

As many as 34 employees had to be admitted in the intensive care unit (ICU), Kailash Hospital administrator K.K. Sharma said.

An Italian delegation of six senior managers in the production wing was also manhandled by the mob.

“The company had expelled about 240 casual workers in January for non-performance. While we re-inducted 70 men, the rest had been striking in front of the factory for the past six months. Although the senior management was willing to take them back after some time, they indulged in extreme unrest and resorted to the blood bath with our employees,” said Rakesh Kumar Singh, an assistant manager with the HR department.

“The men in the age group of 20-35, armed with iron rods and hockey sticks, entered the premises and attacked our security guards at the gate and then workers. They simply hit them with whatever they had. Even as this happened, many of them entered the production area through the reception gates, breaking window panes,” he said.

When Choudhary, came out from his first floor room to talk with the vandalising men for a compromise, six men surrounded him from all sides, first abusing him, then having heated arguments and finally hammering him to death, company sources said.

Choudhary had joined Cerlikon Graziano Transmission in 1998. An engineer with a degree from the IIT Kanpur, he had an excellent track record in his professional career.

He is survived by his wife Ratna, a lecturer with the Kirori Mal College in New Delhi, and son Keshav.

Police official Brijesh Kumar Gautam said: “The clash occurred in the company over a dispute on re-employment of retrenched workers. We are looking into the incident.”

Narendra Singh Gangwar, a 40-year-old worker who was admitted at the Kailash Hospital, said: "The men simply entered the factory and started hitting everyone with iron rods. I suffered fractures in arm and leg and an injury in the head."

Greater Noida, Sep 23 (IANS) As a mob of retrenched employees created mayhem in the factory of Cerlikon-Graziano Transmission India, a subsidiary of an Italian firm, and killed its managing director Monday, industry representatives here said police had failed in maintaining law and order.

"The district police have never provided industries a safe environment crucial for their existence. The law and order situation here was worse but many foreign firms set up their plants in Greater Noida on the Indian government's assurances," said Aditya Ghildyal, vice president of the Association of Greater Noida Industries (AGNI).

"Most factories here started recruiting outside workers and stopped taking locals because of their over-indulgence in union activities. All big firms are now cautious about their recruitment process," he said.

Over 10 factories here have fallen prey to striking trade unions, according to industry observers.

*Greater Noida villagers demand higher compensation for their lands

Over 1,000 villagers Tuesday laid a siege to the Greater Noida Authority office at Gamma, saying the compensation for their acquired agricultural lands was not adequate.

The protesting farmers clashed with the policemen who tried to prevent them from entering the office.

They broke flowerpots in corridors of the office while some women protesters barged into the chairman’s office.

The agitating Greater Noida farmers threatened to immolate themselves if their demands were not met within the next 24 hours, starting Tuesday afternoon.

Expressing resentment against the compensation rates handed over to them for their agricultural lands, the villagers later launched an indefinite sit-in at the Greater Noida Authority’s office.

â€œWe have given 24 hours to the authorities for meeting our demands. If our demands are not met, I and another member Mehndi Hasan will immolate ourselves here before everyone,’ said Ram Dev Rawal, a member of Greater Noida Kisan Sangharsh Manch.

People from over 10 villages, including Ghori Bachera, Dabra, Saini, Ajaibpur, Muthrapur, Kadha, Raipur and Tusiyana, who were gathered at the authority office also raised anti-government slogans.

â€œThis government is anti-farmer and anti-people. They are not bothered about the future of farmers, who have given their only prized possession to the government for its big projects,â€ said Rawal.

The villagers have demanded that the new land acquisition rates of Rs. 850 per sq. metre, announced by the state government in 2008, should be applied to their lands, too, which were acquired in 2006 for Rs.322 per sq. metre.

â€œWe want the new rates to be applicable to our 2006 acquired lands too,â€ said Jagveer Nagar, a protesting villager.

The villagers also claimed that they have not been alloted yet the plot theyn were to get in lieu of their acquire farm lands. â€œThe Greater Noida Authority has been delaying the whole matter,â€ said Vijay Kumar, a villager.

Lalit Srivastava, chairman of the GNIDA, said: â€œThe demands of these farmers are totally unjustified. These people have already lifted their compensation amounts well under the prevalent rates announced by the state government. There is no reason for them to come and demand increase now.

* Greater Noida gets Central Zoo Authority nod to open the first-of-its-kind zoo in India

Watch in wonder as leopards prowl, tigers roar and tropical birds shriek into the night. All wonders of the famous Singapore Night Safari are coming to Noida soon.

The Central Zoo Authority (CZA) has given the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority the permission to start a night safari zoo, the first in India.

The same team that created the Singapore Night Safari will develop this zoo.

While the CZA has given its nod, experts working on the project will also have to get permission for importing or obtaining individual animals, as per the norms laid down by the International Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species and International Union for Conservation of Nature.

“We have given permission to the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority to develop this zoo facility. It is likely to have tropical, mostly nocturnal, animals like owls and big cats from South Africa and South America. Indian animals will include leopards, hyenas and tigers. Bernard Harrison, former CEO of the Singapore zoo, will head the expert team,” said Dr Brij Kishor Gupta, Evaluation Officer, Central Zoo Authority.

According to the CZA, the facility will also serve educational purposes and is expected to evolve into a major tourist attraction. “It will be on over 100 hectares and will be on the Taj Expressway. We expect many tourists to visit the zoo,” said Gupta.

The facility will also have a vulture conservation breeding centre, which has emerged as an important touchstone for Indian conservation following the extinction of White Backed vultures, Slender Billed vultures and Long Billed vultures 2003 onwards.

There are three vulture conservation breeding centres in the country — at Pinjore, Assam and West Bengal — but currently vultures are bred only in Pinjore. (Source IE)

* Decks cleared for completion of Yamuna Expressway

Work on the 165 km long Yamuna Expressway (formerly Taj Expressway) between Greater Noida and Agra in Uttar Pradesh is to begin within a fortnight as the process of land acquisition by Jaiprakash Associates is now complete.

The new expressway will cut down travel time between Delhi and Agra by at least one hour.

The decision to build a new international airport at Jevar, half way between Agra and Greater Noida, will help accelerate economic development of the whole region and give a big boost to tourism, according to businessmen in Agra.

The Yamuna Expressway Authority has given the green signal to develop industrial clusters at half a dozen places.

The expressway passing through the districts of Gautam Buddha Nagar, Aligarh, Mahamaya Nagar (Hathras), Mathura and Agra will come up on land belonging to 115 village panchayats.

A series of under-ways, fly-overs and over-bridges will ensure that motorists can drive at a speed of upto 120 kmph.

According to information provided by the authority, there will be a limited number of road crossings, over 50 over-bridges or fly-overs, pedestrian crossings at over 60 points, at least two dozen locations for public conveniences and pay phone booths, puncture/automobile repair shops, and cold drinks kiosks.

Lalit Srivastav, chairman of the authority, has told engineers that the expressway should not have any speed breakers.

The project promoters are keen that the Yamuna Expressway should be ready much before the coming Commonwealth Games in 2010.

The Jaiprakash group has already secured the contract to build a 1,047-km-long expressway connecting Greater Noida to Ballia in eastern Uttar Pradesh.

The Mayawati government named all the three expressways - Ganga Expressway, Yamuna Expressway and Hindon Expressway - after rivers.

The 250-km-long Hindon Expressway will pass through Ghaziabad and Saharanpur upto Dehradun in Uttarakhand. All the three Expressways will converge at Greater Noida.

* Another feather in Greater Noida's Cap : Greater Goida Bird Sanctuary at Surajpur.

Many rare birds, such as the animated Yellow Wagtail or the flamboyant Black-necked Stork, would soon come calling home here, with government planning to build a sanctuary for these winged visitors. The state forest department has identified a 330-hectare area in the Greater Noida region to develop it into a prime bird habitat, with water bodies and roosting trees that will be home to different bird species.

The state government has already given its consent to build the Greater Noida Bird Sanctuary, adjacent to a reserve forest. The project is also expected to boost eco-tourism.

Nature lovers from across the country would now get another opportunity to watch this spectacular show of birds of different size, shape and colour, in their natural surroundings.

The sanctuary would be built in the Surajpur area on the outskirts of the city, at a cost of Rs.56.4 million. The forest department is expected to complete the project by 2010.

“The site is being closely monitored and the work on the project would begin soon. Currently, a study is being conducted, mainly in the jheel (lake) area,” district forest officer N.P. Singh said, adding that the final drawings from the architect are awaited.

“The area is rich in biodiversity and has pythons, snakes, nilgai (antelope), jackals, besides many species of amphibians and plant species. The Greater Noida Authority has expressed keen interest in the project,” he said.

A lake covering 108 hectares in the site would be cleaned and plantation work would be carried out, he said.

“The sanctuary would provide safe home to migratory as well as local birds. We also plan to take up various eco-developmental activities there,” Singh told IANS in an interview.

Many rare and migratory birds such as the Little Egret, Night Heron, Indian Reef Heron, Painted Stork, Open bill Stork, White necked Stork, Black necked Stork, Comb Duck, Coot, Common Teal and Yellow Wagtail are expected to congregate at the sanctuary.

Small islands would be created on the lake to provide resting grounds for various aquatic birds. Fichus and Babool trees would be planted on the islands, Singh said.

The sanctuary is expected to attract tourists from the National capital region, besides Uttar Pradesh and other states.

To get a better view of the birds, a mound would be built in the middle of the lake. The forest department would grow various plants during monsoons that are food for birds.

The bird sanctuary would be equipped with a watchtower, communication facility, bird information centre, and pedal boats among others.

Singh said the new bird sanctuary would be free from noise, air and water pollution. Source (IANS)

..................................................................................................

Dr Brij Kishore Gupta, Environment and Wild Life Expert resident of Greater Noida was cheerful and excited after hearing this news, while talking to attachowk team he said "The move of State Forest Department of Uttar Pradesh to declare the area as Bird Sanctuary in Uttar Pradesh is a welcome step and praiseworthy. The bird sanctuary may prove a window to resident of educational hub in Noida and Greater Noida and provide an ideal place for younger generation to teach the role played by winged creatures in the nature. Certainly the area declared under the sanctuary shall also play an important role in preservation of rich biodiversity. The proposed sanctuary may also provide home for many endangered species and species which declining rapidly. The water bodies could be boom to water harvest of the area. The forest may serve a green lung for the fast growing city which may later may act as buffer.

* Global standard central university to come up in Greater Noida

Patiala (PTI): Vice chairman of University Grants Commission Prof. Mool Chand Sharma today said an act will be formulated for setting up the 14 Central Universities of world class standards in India.

Talking to reporters soon after the function of foundation stone laying Rajiv Gandhi University of Law at Siduwal village near here, he said that all the universities will be setup once the act for setting up these universities will introduced.

He said that universities would be located in Pune, Kolkata, Coimbatore, Mysore, Visakhapatnam, Gandhinagar, Jaipur, Patna, Bhopal, Kochi, Amritsar, Bhubaneswar, Greater Noida and Guwahati.

The locations have been decided keeping in mind the connectivity and the infrastructure which such universities would need, he said.

The state governments would be requested to identify adequate land in or near the selected cities, Sharma said adding the contour and shape of such world class universities would be defined shortly.

He said that UGC will help to establish 370 Colleges in districts where access and participation rates are lower than the national average.

Most of these districts also have a concentration of SCs, STs, and minorities.

He said that as many as 373 districts in India were having Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) lower than the national average which has been identified by the UGC.

Regarding pay fixation of universities employees, he said that decision will be taken after when Prof G K Chadha committee for pay review committee will submit its report.

Greater Noida farmers demand higher land compensation

Greater Noida, June 9 (IANS) Protesting the rate of compensation for the land acquired from them, two farmer leaders of Greater Noida Monday threatened self-immolation if their demands were not met. “We have given 24 hours to the Greater Noida authority to meet our demands. If our demands are not met, I and Mehndi Hasan will immolate ourselves here before everyone,” said Ram Dev Rawal, a member of the Greater Noida Kisan Sangharsh Manch.

Over 1,000 farmers from 10 villages held demonstrations at the Greater Noida authority’s office in Gamma and shouted anti-government slogans.

They have demanded that the new land acquisition rate of Rs.850 per square metre announced by the Uttar Pradesh government in 2008 should be applied to their lands, which were acquired in 2006 at a rate of Rs.322 per square metre.

Greater Noida authority chairman Lalit Srivastava said: “The farmers’ demands are totally unjustified.”

* Noida twin murders - Aarushi and domestic help Hemraj ....More

Diary of events....

The course of investigation took several turns in the gruesome murder of teenaged Aarushi Talwar - a class IX student of Delhi Public School, Noida. The suspense continued until the arrest of her doctor parents Friday along with another doctor friend. Here is a chronology of the incident and the case investigation —

May 16:

Fourteen-year-old Delhi Public School student Aarushi Talwar found dead.
Missing domestic help Hemraj declared main suspect.
Senior SP A Satish Ganesh stated that the servant must have murdered in an inebriated state and fled.
SP (City) Mahesh Mishra declared that the case will be solved within 24 hours.

May 17:

Hemraj, the main suspect, was accused as the culprit in the FIR lodged by father Rajesh Talwar.
The help was later found dead on the house’s terrace after police broke open the locked door.
Special task force (STF) joins the probe.
SP (City) Mishra made statement that surgical equipment was used in the murders and the killer knew the house well.
Police seek call details of the mobile phones of Aarushi and Hemraj.

May 19:

SP (City) Mishra was transferred along with the SHO of Sector-20 police station Dataram Nauneria.
SSP Ganesh said that it was clear that the murderer had access to all parts of the house.

May 20:

Former family help Vishnu Thapa was suspected in the case, as reported from the office of state’s Additional Director General of Police Brij Lal.
SSP Ganesh said that Vishnu’s whereabouts were not known.
Aarushi’s parents were questioned for several hours.
Later in the day, SSP Ganesh claimed the case will be cracked within 24 hours.

May 21:

Citing the post-mortem examination report, ADGP Lal ruled out rape of the girl.
Driver Umesh Sharma told police that he had seen Aarushi with her parents just before dinner on the night of incident (Thursday).
Ashok Tripathi took over as the new SP (City), conducting raids and sealed Talwars’ garage.
Sector-39 SHO Anil Samania was made the new investigating officer of the case.
Delhi police team visits to assist the UP police in probe.

May 22:

Claiming that the police had almost cracked the case, SSP Ganesh said that the twin murders were possibly “honour killing”.
Aarushi’s friend Anmol, whom she had talked to before being killed, was questioned by the police for hours.

May 23:

Parents questioned for five hours.
Talwars arrested along with another doctor Anita Durrani; their houses raided.

* Aane Se Uske Aayegi Bahaar.....

Metro Proposed to run by 2012 in Greater Noida and by 2015 in Jewar.

Joint meeting of Noida- Greater noida and GDA decides to go for DPR Preparation within a month on these proposed lines.

Total cost of the project Rs 11,000 crore will be borne by three authorities.

In first phae Metro will operate between Sector 32 Noida -, Parichowk - Knowledge Park 5.

Phase II KP 5 - Noida Sector 62 in 2014 and phase III in 2015 Jewar line.

Project will be implemented by DMRC.

Region will get a quantum boost for hyper economic, trade and commerce activities due to which eEduaction, hospitality and IT industries would propsper.(Source Jagran) 14th May

Property rates move up in Greater Noida

Now the dream of owing property in Noida and Greater Noida might end up being just that, a dream. Land rates for residential plots in Greater Noida have almost doubled, while Noida Authority is planning to revise rates.

According to Lalit Srivastava, chairman, Noida and Greater Noida Authority, Greater Noida land rates have been hiked by 50-60 % in view of hike in land compensation. Residential land rates have been hiked from Rs 5900 to Rs 10,500 per sq m.

Lalit Srivastava announced a major rehauling of Noida and Greater Noida for Commonwealth Games 2010. We have decided to spend Rs 9000 crore for development of Noida and Greater Noida this financial year, he says. The board approved Rs 4009 crore for year 2008-09. Keeping in view the Commonwealth Games, several development projects have been planned for the city and Rs 3918 crore would be spent for that.

Land acquisition budget has been hiked from Rs 500 crore last year to Rs 1000 crore. This was necessitated due to hike in land compensation rates which are now Rs 1000 per sq m in Noida for developing villages on a par with developed sectors; rural development fund has also been hiked from Rs 16 crore to Rs 55 crore, said Shishir Singh, OSD, Land Acquisition Department.

For electricity infrastructure such as substations of 220 KV and other capacity, Rs 40 crore has been earmarked in the budget. The land rates hike proposal for Noida has, however, not been approved by the board. It has asked for a revision of the costing.

Rates were proposed to be hiked in view of hike in land compensation. We have approved Rs 300 crore for the land acquisition and Rs 200 crore for development, informs P K Agarwal, deputy chief executive officer, Taj Expressway Authority. As the authority has no funds, Rs 500 crore would be provided by Greater Noida Authority and Rs 1000 crore by the Noida Authority, which would be used for land acquisition and development purposes.

Due to constructions reaching up into the sky and roads widening by the day, property price in both Noida and Greater Nodia are also assuming similar dimensions. The migration trend which started with the IT and Software companies moving to Noida and Greater Noida is now being emulate by people looking for quality life. In all other developed sectors, the hike may go up 50%, sources say. The hike was necessitated to meet capital projects like Metro, bus services and flyover projects. The Noida Authority board meeting is scheduled to be held in May, 2008 to approve the revised rates. (Source : ET)

Land prices in Noida go up by 20-25%

The Noida authority has decided to raise prices by 20-25% for all residential, commercial and institutional land auctioned by it. Noida CEO, Mohinder Singh, said the new rates would be announced in a day or two.

Singh also said the plots of the countermanded draw of July 2004, which the Noida board had earlier decided to auction, would not be auctioned now. The authority is moving the Allahabad high court to seek permission to draw the names of allotees afresh and sell the plots at rates prevailing at the time of the original auction.

The authority also said people whose residential plot allotments had been cancelled for any reason, could now have these restored even if more than six months have elapsed since the annulment. This would be done for a fee, which will depend on how long ago the allotment was cancelled. (Source: TOI)

Greater Noida land rates hiked

GREATER NOIDA: The Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) board hiked the minimum rates for all categories of land, in an important decision taken on Tuesday evening.

Residential allotment rates, for instance, have been raised from Rs 5,900 per sq m to Rs 10,500 per sq m.

The group housing land rates have been hiked from Rs 5,900 per sq m to Rs 10,000 per sq m. The minimum rates of industrial land will be Rs 3,000 per sq m, up from Rs 1,400. The minimum commercial rates are up from Rs 12,000 to Rs 20,000. The average rise in the Greater Noida land rates is, therefore, about 60 per cent to 70 per cent.

Apart from this, the GNIDA board has also decided to standardise forms for lease deeds of residential, commercial and industrial plots.

GNIDA chairman Lalit Srivastava said that when there are auctions for any land, the minimum price will become the reserve price.

Source TOI

New Delhi's Envy ...Greater Noida's Pride....Night Safari .....coming soon.

Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) is planning to develop night safari in its recreational green sector on the lines of similar zoological gardens in Singapore and China. The proposed night safari will cover an area of 250 acres and cost approximately Rs. 276 crores.

A night safari simply means a zoo by night and allows visitors to watch animals in enclosures between the late evening hours until midnight. Visitors are taken in a battery operated, noiseless, pollution free and a noheadlights train around the enclosures, which are lit up with specialized lights giving the impression of a moonlit night.

This would be an entertainment zone and will help spur tourism in Greater Noida. The objective is to augment Greater Noida as a premier tourist destination.

The project has two components. The first is a habitat for animals and the other is tourism that will mean building hotels, parks and restaurants. The designer chosen for the project is Bernard Harrison, the former Director of the Singapore Zoo who was instrumental in setting up Night Safari is in Singapore and China.

Bernard is carrying out the detailed design of the project. The concept design stage is over and the manner of implementation, the terms and conditions of the project are currently being finalized with him.

The safari will be built by the Authority itself as several clearances, including environmental clearances are required. The tourism aspect can be privatized. We hope to realize the entire cost through the second mechanism.

There are plans to complete the project by 2010-2011.

Some 250 varieties of trees will be planted here to suit different animals. The authorities are expecting approximately two to four million visitors to the park annually.

The first Night Safari opened in Singapore in 1994 and today attracts a million wildlife enthusiasts annually. The Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority has made presentation to the central Zoo Authority (CZA), DG Forests, UP Forest department and Joint secretary of the Tourist Department of India. In fact, approval for the project has already been received from the central zoo authority. A further assistance of USD 2.3 million has been obtained from the Government of India.

For more info contact Dr Brij Kishore Gupta, Scientist CZA at pari@parichowk.com

Gautam Buddha University to offer MBA programme this summer

On the outskirts of bustling Delhi metropolitan region, a new entity is getting ready to offer 'European and US style' education, including management programmes.

Uttar Pradesh state supported Gautam Buddha University (GBU) has made a hi-profile entry into the country's education sector with its first programme offering – a two-year MBA progamme offered by its School of Management. The MBA programme will admit students through its own Graduate Proficiency Test for Management to be held on June 1, 2008.

GBU has issued admission notice announcing its Graduate Proficiency Test for Management (M-GPT 2008). The University is expected to commence its first academic session in Greater Noida from August 2008.

Says GBU, "Gautam Buddha University Management Education Programme with specialisation in Finance, Human Resource Management, Strategic Management, Marketing and Retail Management, is being developed in line with leading Business Schools in Europe, Canada and USA."

GBU has also announced its faculty recruitment drive. It has offered ten opening in management studies. The opening invite Indian Nationals, Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) with an established record of independent, high quality research, and commitment to teaching and research. The posts announced include Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor and Research Associate.

Talking about its pedagogy, GBU says, "Gautam Buddha University (GBU) has a sincere focus on research-based teaching and lays emphasis on teaching, which is modern and up-to-date."

Gautam Buddha University, established by U.P. Act (9) of 2002 as passed by U.P. Legislature is being funded by Greater Noida Development Authority and Noida Development Authority, and is supported by Government of Uttar Pradesh. GBU is headed by Prof. R S Nirjar who is the Vice Chancellor of the University.

GBU is modeled around integrated universities like Oxford and Cambridge. Outlining its vision, GBU says, "The vision of the university is to serve as an integrated academic and research institution with an inter-disciplinary curricular structure seeking to address the social, economic and technological challenges of the nation. Three distinct phases' growth and development of five, ten and twenty years are foreseen with clearly articulated strategies for each phase. As a university modeled after some of the best institution of higher learning around the world, the uniqueness of its reputation will be easily recognizable through the format content, approaches of its programmes and their relevance to the society."

Apart from School of Management, the University will also house facilties for Humanities and Buddhist Studies, Bio technology, International Law, Environment Studies and Information and Communication Technology.

UP technical varsity sets up Noida centre

NOIDA, February 26 The Uttar Pradesh Technical University (UPTU) recently set up its Noida centre—its first in western UP—at a cost of Rs 17 crore.

The centre, which will soon be transformed into a virtual classroom with help from IT giant IBM, will be linked to other colleges under the varsity, officials said.

The campus will be connected to 12 nodal centres in the state, and each college will be connected to its nearest centre. Scientists and technical experts will visit the centre and interact with students and teachers from colleges across the state, officials said.

“If the plans, including providing virtual classrooms, research centres, organising training programmes for students and teachers, are properly implemented, the varsity could soon challenge the monopoly of the IITs,” said R C Sharma, chairman of the Ramesh Institute of Technology in Greater Noida.

The new centre, which has been built on 52 square metres, will control activities in the nearly 70 engineering and technical education colleges in NCR, officials said.

Close to 70 per cent of colleges under the varsity are located in NCR. What’s more, the varsity has also signed an MoU with computer-chip manufacturing giant Intel to set up a research centre at its Lucknow headquarters.

Sadal Prasad, the Minister for Technical Education (Independent charge) of UP, said, “With an overwhelming rise in the number of students getting enrolled with the university, steps had to be taken to improve quality of education. This is a step in that direction.”

Software giant Microsoft has also agreed to train 12,000 teachers, the first batch of which will have 900 teachers from across the state, officials said.

Nearly 500 students will be taken for on-the-job training every year, and special scholarship programmes have also been proposed, officials said.

The university has also come up with a points system to rate performances of the colleges. Three colleges—Krishna Institute of Information Technology in Ghaziabad, Indian Institute of Engineering in Bhadohi and Ramesh Institute in Greater Noida in NCR—were recently given the excellence award for providing quality education.

Source : Indian Express

The Board of Noida, Greater Noida and the Taj Expressway authorities gave its approval to several mega projects, including construction of Taj City.

Other major projects planned to come up along the Expressway, include a Sports City to be built on 300 acre, an auto mart, fashion mart, book mart, city centre and a habitat mart.

Lalit Kumar, Chairman of the Board and CEO of the Greater Noida Authority and the Taj Expressway Authority said, “We hope to complete the Sports City before 2010 Commonwealth Games.”

New plans approved for the city include a combined traffic plan, rain water harvesting, and a solid-waste management plant, two 300-bed super-speciality hospitals and two government colleges, one each for Noida and Greater Noida.

“The schools will be of world-class standard and will accommodate at least 1,500 students each,” Moninder Singh, CEO of Noida Authority, said.

Committees have been set up to coordinate and devise plans for the Metro to reach Greater Noida. A world-class railway station for the district has also been approved, officials said.

The railway station, authorities said, would be the largest in Asia when complete, and the Metro project will be taken up with DMRC after receiving a feasibility report from RITES.

“We hope to make it operational before the completion of the International Airport in Jewar,” Singh said.

Officials said last date for accepting bids will be March 3. The Board has also decided to complete allotting the tenders by the last week of March.

Approved Works
* Construction of Taj City
* Sports City along Taj Expressway
* Two 300-bed super-speciality hospitals
* 2 government colleges, one each for Noida and Greater Noida

Greater Noida City...with Gautam Buddha University....

About 30,000 students are being imparted the knowledge of Computer, Mangement, Technology, Law, Educationa, Pharmcy, Hospitality Management, etc. Students from all over India are studying here and are the backbone of Greater Noida City's economy.

This city desreves the place for university as the CCS University is far away from this place. It's become famous for strife by students n teachers turn by turn hamperig the examination and other academic activities. Now it has been the CM's dream project.....

It is rather a matter of pride to the Greater Noida City that Gautam Buddha University is being a reality thanks to Ms. Mayawati and Greater Noida Authority for speeding up the work.....Greater Noida's educational wings would now have more more power...to fly higher n higher. People are calling Greater Noida City as the city without electricity ...quite true...but it is now reality that it is also a city with university....Cheers!

By Gajanan Mali

Greater Noida Airport gets in principle approval ......issue referred to GOM for looking in to technicalities....

The capital inched closer to getting a second airport with the Union Cabinet on Thursday approving "in principle" the UP government's proposal for an international airport at Greater Noida.

A final stamp of approval for the Taj International Aviation Hub, or TIAH, will, however, come after a group of ministers vets the legal aspects of the agreement with GMR-backed Delhi International Airport (Pvt) Ltd or DIAL, which is expected to be affected the most once the new facility comes up by 2012.

The new greenfield airport policy, which is likely to do away with the current restriction on a new airport being built within 150km of an existing airport, could also play a role in the final outcome. The new policy is expected to be sent to the Union Cabinet over the next few weeks.

The new airport in Jevar — a pet project of UP chief minister Mayawati — is 72km away from Delhi's IGI airport. On her first visit to Delhi after assuming office, Mayawati had managed to extract a promise from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the project. Her ability to convince the Centre once again would also be a pointer to BSP's relations with Congress ahead of next year's general elections.

Taj Expressway Project to be completed by 2010.......

The Rs 2,250-crore Taj Expressway project, which envisages a six-laned 165 km stretch connecting Greater Noida to Agra, would reduce travel time between Delhi to Agra from the current four hours to around two hours.

The project, which is being implemented on build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis by the concessionaire Jaiprakash Associates Ltd (JAL), is expected to be completed by February 2010, before the commencement of the Commonwealth Games.

A special purpose vehicle by the name Jaypee Infratech Ltd (JIL) has been incorporated recently to implement the project by the concessionaire. The project had been awarded to the JAL on the basis of competitive bidding by the UP government through the Taj Expressway Industrial Development Authority (TEA).

Though the concession agreement between the UP government and JAL was signed in February 2003, and the implementation of the project was delayed due to various judicial inquiries over it, JAL officials said they would be able to complete it by February 2010, the original deadline of the project.

Jaypee officials said they have already carried out surveys, studies, investigations, design and engineering work. They have also finalised the alignment and have obtained clearance from the Union environment ministry, and construction work for the first 5 km has already started.

JIL has to construct the six-lane access controlled expressway on left bank of the Yamuna at its own cost. For this, TEA has to provide around 1,775 hectares of land, while in addition to this, TEA also has to provide 2,500 hectares of land for development along the expressway, which JIL would use for commercial, industrial and residential development purposes.

Apart from this, JIL would have to levy and collect toll from the users for the concession period of 36 years. Once the concession period is over, JIL would hand over the project to TEA at nil cost. Since it is an infrastructure project, JIL, sources say, would be entitled for a tax holiday for 10 year period out of 15 years, starting from the commissioning of the project.

The expressway would have 37 underpasses, three main toll plazas, six plazas on the interchange loop, and 42 minor bridges.

Noida Greater Noida Board Meeting......decisions...

Bade Miyya will get Helipad.....Chote Miyya will have to wait for Metro....

After boasting of an IT hub, development of SEZs and world-class buildings, Noida may soon add another feather to its cap with the construction of a helipad.

On Monday, Noida board, 'in principle', approved the setting aside of a 25-acre plot for developing a helipad. A consultant would be appointed to do a basic feasibility study of the project to come up on the land in sector-41 before the board gives its final clearance.

With plans for several tall buildings being cleared for Noida, helipads will be mandatory on top of these buildings, as laid down in the National Building Code for buildings that are 15 storeys tall or more. Revealing this, Noida additional chief executive officer Y K Behl added that the DMRC's recommendation not to connect Noida with Greater Noida will be reviewed. "The DMRC had not found a Noida-Greater Noida Metro connection viable. But with the work on the Taj Expressway set to begin, it will be reviewed by the GNIDA, Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) and Noida. The Taj Expressway and clearance for the airport at Greater Noida should make the Metro connection viable by the time the network is set up," he said.

Metro Connectivity to Greater Noida

By Manoj K Narayanan

It is indeed nice to learn from different sources that Greater NOIDA is all set to become an IT hotspot. At last a vibrant dream coupled with meticulous planning by some visionary officers have started to yield the envisaged results. It is a sort of miracle that, this is happening in a state like UP where political stability was missing for most part of the last decade. This is a pointer to the fact that India as a country is on the path of irreversible globalization.

In fact the potential of NOIDA-Greater NOIDA region is almost unlimited. If one analyses, the role of Expressway in the overall development of the region is very significant. Due to this highway, two towns otherwise separated by 25 kilometers are merging and becoming one MAHA NOIDA. It must be one of the most glowing examples of pro active town planning to have happened anywhere in India .

Another significant step has been the UP Roadways buses plying on our roads. The yellow revolution unleashed by both authorities is already providing great relief to the residents of both the towns. Some fine tuning in the time table, route and some additional services to touch important points in Delhi like Central Secretariat, CGO Complex , AIIMS, R.K. Puram etc. will tremendously boost the overall utility of the this service. Still it is really commendable that both the authorities became ready to invest a huge amount to buy these buses and they have even made up their mind to compensate UPSRTC for whatever operational losses it may incur for one year.

Next logical step for both the authorities, to be on the proactive trajectory, is to seriously think about extending the Metro Rail connectivity up to Greater NOIDA. It is understood that some activities have already started and DMRC has been asked to study the feasibility. But it is very likely that DMRC not suggesting a Metro line to Greater NOIDA at present considering the current population there and the likely operational losses. It will be in this context that NA and GNA need to re assert their acumen for pro active planning. They will have to revisit their famous slogan of ‘infrastructure before any other development’. Above mentioned two success stories should act as motivating catalyst to take some landmark decision regarding Metro also. If DMRC is not keen, then authority should think about some PPP model in implementing the same. It can be safely said that there will be many private groups interested in such a project. Because, the opportunities opening up due to a Metro corridor along Expressway will be unlimited. It will change the face of this industrial hub dramatically. Hope the CEOs of both authorities will realize this and go ahead and implement this project.

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