Three more districts added to national capital region

New Delhi, July 1:Bhiwani and Mahendragarh districts of Haryana and Bharatpur in Rajasthan are now part of the National Capital Region (NCR).

Their inclusion was today approved by the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) which will also soon take up proposals on Jind and Karnal districts.

"Based on the request of the participating states, the board today has approved the inclusion of Bharatpur in Rajasthan, Bhiwani and Mahendragarh in Haryana in the NCR. The planning committee will also meet up shortly to take up Jind and Karnal," Urban Development minister Kamal Nath said today after chairing the NCRPB meeting here.

The NCR till now included nine Haryana districts, five districts of Uttar Pradesh, Alwar in Rajasthan and the National Capital Territory (NCT).

The Minister said that the NCRPB had also approved the Rajasthan government's request for identification of Jaipur as Counter-Magnet Area.

Counter-Magnet areas are to act as "interceptors" of migratory flows into NCR due the accelerated development and also as regional rowth centres, that would be able to achieve a balanced pattern of urbaniastion.

The Board also approved the Sub-Regional plan for UP sub-region.

Nath also said that the Regional Plan 2021 was reviewed and the Draft Revised Regional Plan 2021 prepared by the NCRPB in consultation with the participating states and stake-holders has been approved for inviting objections and suggestions from the public under the provisions of the NCRPB Act.

He said that there has been 62 per cent urbanisation in NCR and this is expected to go to 73 per cent by the year 2021, when it will become the highest urbanised area in the country.

Noting that the per capita income in the region was the highest in the country and the NCR was a very important hub of economic activity in the country , he stressed on the need to improve Delhi's connectivity with adjoining areas.

Nath told reporters that the per capita income of the NCR region had consistently been higher than the rest of the country.

He spoke for having an efficient mass transport system as a driver of economic development and highlighted the need for Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) in NCR.

He said the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) had recommended setting up of a National Capital Region Transport Corporation(NCRTC) for implementation of RRTS which in Phase-I will connect Delhi-Panipat (111 km), Delhi-Alwar (180 km) and Delhi-Meerut (90 km).

He said that the matter would be taken up in the cabinet soon. Giving more details, Nath said that the work on the three corridors would start soon and would be completed by 2016 and NCRPB would contribute Rs 200 crore to begin the work on one of the lines.

Nath said that the NCR region must grow simultaneously to reduce pressure on infrastructure of Delhi. In the meeting, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had spoken of the burden on capital's resources due to influx from neighbouring areas.

"The Chief Minister of Delhi had made a very important point that Delhi bears the burden, like in the health sector people for treatment come to hospitals. So there must be health facilities in the NCR set up by the states so that the pressure is dispersed," he said.

Nath said that to reduce Delhi's burden states should create infrastructure related to health, sewage treatment and night shelters. He said that the Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (HUPA) ministry had agreed to provide 50 of funds for 24 hour shelters and another 20 percent would be provided by NCRPB.

The meeting was attended by Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation minister Girija Vyas, Delhi CM Shiela Dixit, Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the Lt. Governor of Delhi Tejender Khanna and senior officials.

Hooda later told reporters that he felt that the inclusion of more districts from his state into the NCR Planning Board would result in quicker development and better infrastructure.

A statement released by the Urban Development ministry said that the NCRPB has provided loan financing for 277 infrastructure projects worth Rs 18,994 crore upto March 2013.

It said that the actual loan disbursement has increased from Rs 6045 crore in March 2012 to Rs 6464 crore in March 2013. In addition to raising funds to the tune of Rs 1100 crore from domestic capital market, the Board has also drawn an amount of Rs 137.64 crore from Asian Development Bank and Rs 108.45 crore from KfW, the statement said.

The Board has maintained its track record of 100 per cent recovery of loans and this has been reflected in the credit rating of 'AAA with Stable Outlook' with three credit rating agencies CRISIL, ICRA and FITCH, the ministry said.

In the last meeting, the Board decided to provide as grant 15 per cent of the project cost for priority sectors which include water, sewerage, solid waste management, drainage, roads, the statement added.

PTI