Ghaziabad: Ghaziabad Development Authority board on Thursday approved a proposal to acquire land for the construction of embankment along Hindon banks. The river, which runs for about 58km through Ghaziabad district from Mataur to NH-9/DME, usually flows as a narrow stream for most of the year, but the last three monsoons have seen repeated flooding, with 2023 witnessing the worst damage. Officials said the embankment plan was cleared in response to these recurring flood events.The decision was taken at a GDA board meeting chaired by Meerut divisional commissioner and GDA chairperson Bhanu Chandra Goswami. Along with the embankment proposal, the board approved 25 other agenda items, including the Authority’s budget for the 2026-27 financial year and major urban development projects.According to GDA officials, less than 10km of the Hindon’s 58km stretch in Ghaziabad currently has embankments. Existing protection includes a 5km stretch from NH-9 via Kanawani to the Vasundhara barrage, a 1.2km section from Kanawani to Haj House on GT Road, and around 3.5km from Kanawani GT Road to RNE. The remaining stretches, they said, are vulnerable, especially as the river is flanked by around 52 hectares of floodplain.Apart from flood control, the embankment is expected to create a continuous stretch along the river that could ease traffic congestion. GDA is also exploring the development of a riverfront along the Hindon, for which additional land acquisition has been proposed, an official said.The board also gave in-principle approval for the construction of an international cricket stadium at Morti, to be jointly developed by GDA and the Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association. The project, stalled earlier over floor area ratio (FAR) norms, gained momentum after the Uttar Pradesh Building Bylaws, 2025, raised the permissible FAR for recreational green land use to 2.5. The stadium is planned on a 31-acre plot in Morti, acquired by UPCA for around Rs 70 crore.In the same meeting, the board approved the development of a township on an “Aero City” theme near the proposed stadium, and cleared the redevelopment of the ageing Tulsi Niketan housing complex under the Urban Redevelopment Policy 2026. Built in the 1990s, Tulsi Niketan comprises 220 LIG flats, over 2,000 EWS flats and 60 shops, many of which are now structurally unsafe.On the financial front, the board approved an expenditure of Rs 3,287 crore for FY 2026–27, with a revenue target of Rs 3,496 crore. For the ongoing fiscal, GDA had set a revenue target of Rs 2,717 crore and an expenditure outlay of Rs 1,977 crore. By Jan 2026, it had generated Rs 2,093 crore and spent Rs 1,022 crore.
