Ghaziabad: Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) will utilise urban infrastructure development funds and the central govt’s Urban Challenge Fund for two projects meant to form green mobility corridors, aimed at curbing dust and vehicular emissions ahead of the winter pollution season.The move follows a winter action plan drawn up by the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB), which has identified nine pollution hotspots in the city, up from seven last year. These are Sahibabad, Raj Nagar Extension, Loni, Bhopra-Delhi Border, Siddharth Vihar/Kanawani Pushta Road, Vijay Nagar and South Side GT Road, Lal Kuan, Indirapuram, and Vasundhara/Vaishali.The UPPCB report, titled ‘Plan to Tackle Air Pollution during the Ensuing Winter Season 2026-27’, found that the city’s average PM10 concentration rose from 137 micrograms per cubic metre in 2025 to 205 micrograms per cubic metre in 2026 between Jan and Aug. Average PM2.5 levels across the four monitoring stations rose from 67 to 82 micrograms per cubic metre over the same period.“Under urban infrastructure development, GDA has Rs 272 crore in its coffers from FY 2025-26, and by the end of the current fiscal year, the development authority is expected to raise this to Rs 322 crore. Two projects — the GT Road elevated road and a railway underpass between Ghaziabad railway station and ALH crossing, which have emerged as major traffic bottlenecks — will be funded from the infrastructure development fund,” said a GDA official.The 2km, four-lane elevated road from Ramlila Maidan in Ghantaghar to Bhatia Mod is expected to decongest busy stretches including Bhatia Mod, Chaudhary Mod and Ghantaghar, and ease traffic on GT Road towards Aligarh. The plans are being prepared by IIT Roorkee.“The estimated cost of the project has been pegged at Rs 200 crore and will be partly taken up under the Urban Challenge Fund and urban infrastructure development,” the official said.Under the Urban Challenge Fund, 25% of the financing comes from Centre, 25% from the state govt or urban local body, and the remaining 50% is raised through market-based financing. Officials said GDA’s share will come from urban infrastructure development funds and Rs 50 crore has been set aside for the project.For the second project, a railway underpass, Rs 12 crore will be utilised from the urban infrastructure development fund.“The site is between Ghaziabad station and ALH crossing, where railway crossings on the busy Delhi-Howrah route presently cause traffic bottlenecks. The area is notorious for traffic jams, which contribute to vehicular pollution. As per a study, the area witnesses a traffic volume of 2,293 passenger car units. We had proposed an underpass, which has been approved by the railways, and based on its assessment, we plan to spend Rs 12 crore from the fund for its construction,” the official said.The infrastructure push comes alongside a separate electric vehicle drive. Following chief minister’s call to encourage EV adoption and cut vehicular pollution across NCR districts, Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation made 25 EV charging stations operational across the city on Friday. The corporation is also installing 100 more EV charging stations at 20 locations, among them Rajendra Nagar, Bus Adda, Sai Upvan, RNE, CR, Hindon Crematorium, Akbarpur-Behrampur, Diamond Flyover, Patel Nagar, GT Road, Govindpuram, Swarnjayantipuram, Taj Highway, Vivekanand ROB, Ret Mandi and Raj Nagar.
