Panel to study development in 'far-reaching' areas' of NCR

The National Capital Region Planning Board is likely to constitute a committee of town planners and other experts to conduct a study for sustainable development of "far-reaching" areas of NCR, officials said.

The committee is also likely to study as to why population density is more in some areas surrounding Delhi, but in other areas of NCR, it is relatively less, according to two officials aware of the matter.

"The need of constituting an expert committee was taken up in a recent board meeting of NCRPB. In view of this, NCRPB will soon constitute a committee of town planners, transport and other experts," an official told PTI.

Asked who will head the panel, the official said the decision has not been taken yet, adding that terms of references of the panel will soon be fixed.

An official said that in the recent past, several areas such Shamli, Muzzafarnagar, Hapur districts of Uttar Pradesh and Faridabad, Jind and Karnal districts of Harayana have been included in the NCR.

"In surrounding areas of Delhi like Noida, Gurugram, Ghaziabad, there has been rapid development.The committee will look into aspects of sustainable development in far-reaching areas of NCR and optimization of resources," official also said.

The plan is to ensure equal development in all areas which are part of the National Capital Region so that people don't need to move to surrounding areas of Delhi, official said.

In 2015, the NCRPB had decided to include Muzaffarnagar district of Uttar Pradesh, and Jind and Karnal districts of Haryana.

According to NCRPB's website, National Capital Region (NCR) is a unique example of inter-state regional planning and development, covering the entire National Capital Territory of Delhi, thirteen districts of State of Haryana, seven districts of State of Uttar Pradesh and two districts of State of Rajasthan, with the Nation Capital as its core.

The National Capital Region (NCR) in India was constituted under the NCRPB Act, 1985 with the key rationale to promote balanced and harmonized development of the region, and to avoid any haphazard development.