How smart city tag can transform Ghaziabad realty

The Urban Development Minister, Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday unveiled the names of 98 cities which will come under the scrutiny of a smart city tag. Uttar Pradesh has the largest share of developing 13 smart cities, Ghaziabad being one of them. 

Will this news kick start the real estate market of Ghaziabad which has been stagnant in the last couple of months? ‘Yes,’ say industry experts.  

“The population moving to Ghaziabad over the last decade are salaried professionals, who are mostly tech savvy. Some of them are also concerned about the environment. Smart City is a concept that makes life easier for residents and enhances their quality of life. It is not limited to technology," says Gaurav Gupta, general secretary, CREDAI Raj Nagar Extension.

It includes transportation, waste management, traffic management, etc.  Ghaziabad has been shortlisted for stage 2 of the smart city mission. Everyone including real estate developers will work towards providing such an environment,” he adds.

The development authority plans to put up informative LEDs running on solar energy, free Wi-Fi access to residents of Ghaziabad for a limited period, etc.

Developing Ghaziabad as a smart city, will definitely bring in positive results. Developers will increasingly focus on energy conservation, pollution control and come up with eco-friendly projects that will add value to the lives of the residents also quality of living for residents will improve significantly,” Gupta adds.

Currently, Ghaziabad is going through infrastructural development - from Metro connectivity to flyovers and roads. “We have already executed the first phase of metro line from Anand Vihar to Vaishali. In the second phase, we are taking the metro from Dilshad Garden to Ghaziabad new bus stand through Mohan Nagar. In the third phase, we are planning metro line from Sector 62, Noida to Indirapuram CISF Road," says VK Goel, chief engineer, Ghaziabad Development Authority.

Further, there is a proposal in pipeline from Indirapuram CISF Road to Link Road and Vaishali to Mohan Nagar. The related Detailed Project Reports (DPR) are under preparation,” he adds.

Expert says that if the above mentioned development successfully completes and the government starts its process of converting the city into a Smart City, then it will push the property values significantly. “The announcement of it will only help in pushing up the values in the next 6 months or so, by at least 10-15 per cent. Once the metro and other infrastructures gets completed, property prices can grow even further,” says Ankur Budhiraja, AB Corporations, a local real estate agent. 

Ghaziabad might be considered as the city to invest. Under the smart city tag, it will definitely progress and being close to Delhi will boost its prefer-ability amongst buyers in months to come. Make an investment when the property prices are still lower and make the most of the opportunity.

Source: Magicbricks