Varanasi: Bringing township projects after a gap of 32 years of executing Lalpur Yojana, the Varanasi Development Authority (VDA) has accelerated infrastructure development at its flagship Anand Kashi Yojana with plans to begin plot registration across all categories by the end of August.Following an inspection of the project site at Kallipur on Friday, VDA vice-chairman Purn Bora directed officials and executing agencies concerned to expedite infrastructure works while maintaining quality standards.Bora said construction of roads, boundary walls and entry gates is currently underway. This will be followed by the laying of sewerage and drainage networks and other civic infrastructure.He further said most of the land required for the project has already been acquired through land pooling and direct purchase, while the process of registration under the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) is underway. The authority aims to commence plot registration by the end of August and complete major infrastructure works by December.Spread over 250 acres, Anand Kashi Yojana is VDA’s first integrated gated township project since the development of Lalpur Yojana more than three decades ago. Designed around Kashi’s cultural and Vedic heritage, the township will feature a peripheral boundary wall with controlled entry and exit points.In the first phase, development will cover around 150 acres, where more than 2,000 residential plots ranging from 128 sq m to 300 sq m will be developed. The project includes a network of 24-metre, 18-metre, 12-metre and 9-metre-wide roads, along with water supply, sewerage, electricity, stormwater drainage, green spaces and other civic amenities.The township is being planned in accordance with Vastu principles, with at least 15 per cent of the area—around nine hectares—earmarked as green space. Commercial plots will be developed along the 24-metre-wide main road, while separate land has been reserved for group housing, hotels, hospitals and educational institutions to create a self-sustained urban neighbourhood.Besides Anand Kashi, the VDA has also approved the 165-acre Rudra Vihar Township at Madhni and the 160-acre Sports City at Ganjari, which will be developed around the under-construction international cricket stadium.The three township projects are being closely monitored by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The Uttar Pradesh government has provided an initial seed capital of Rs 400 crore for their development.Bora said the VDA has so far disbursed Rs 950 crore to farmers who contributed land for the township projects. He added that the authority is investing more than Rs 200 crore in infrastructure development for each of the three townships, which will be equipped with modern road networks, green spaces, civic amenities and other world-class urban infrastructure.
