Noida to survey population density before approving projects
The Noida authority has reportedly decided to conduct population density surveys in residential and industrial areas in order to gauge whether it can approve new projects without burdening existing infrastructure. A committee reportedly comprising of officials from the authority's planning, housing, and traffic departments will conduct the surveys and submit its report within a month. 
The Noida authority has decided to conduct a survey of the population in residential and industrial areas to assess if it can allow new projects or additional floor area ratio in existing ones without burdening the existing infrastructure.If the survey report will recommend that no more housing growth be allowed, the authority may stop approving additional housing units that are to come up in existing projects. The authority may also stop approving new housing projects if the survey recommends it, officials said.The authority?s chief executive officer (CEO) Amit Mohan Prasad has constituted a committee to conduct the survey and submit a report within a month. The committee comprises officials from the planning, housing and traffic departments of the authority, which have a mandate to approve housing and infrastructure projects.The committee also has members from the transport and the Uttar Pradesh pollution control board (UPPCB), the state-level pollution watchdog.?The committee has the important task of surveying growth in residential, industrial and other areas. The committee will find out the exact population in group housing towers and plotted areas or a scale of industrial units. We have kept UPPCB in the loop so that we can identify the impact on the population on the environment,? Atal Kumar Rai, an additional chief executive officer of the Noida authority, said.The industrial city of Noida, as per the NCR Planning Board?s approved regional plan, is earmarked for housing a population of 12 lakh by 2021 and the authority has the mandate to provide civic amenities, infrastructure and housing facilities for only 12 lakh people. However, as per Noida?s Master Plan-2031, the city already had a population in excess of 10 lakh in 2010.?The Noida authority has already developed infrastructure, built housing projects and allotted land to builders to provide habitation for 25 lakh population by 2031,? an architect and urban planner with the Noida authority said.There are many builders who still want to purchase additional floor area ratio (FAR) in their existing under-construction buildings, to build additional floors and flats to accommodate more people. The authority has decided to conduct a survey before allowing the purchase of additional FAR, to assess if an increase in population will overburden existing infrastructure and civic amenities.As of now, five builders have submitted proposals for purchasing additional FAR. ?We are yet to take a decision on these proposals. We will not decide on these proposals before survey report is assessed,? said Rai. Traffic snarls on all arterial roads in sectors 18, 38A, 50, 49, 41, 63 and 62, among others, particularly during peak hours, has become a problem for commuters.?Noida is bursting at the seams because, as per the NCRPB?s 1985 Act, it was supposed to be a low-density town. But pressure from politicians and bureaucrats has led to a violation of urban norms and increased population density, which is burdening the existing infrastructure,? said Ranvir Singh, a retired Navy officer, who is contesting a case on NCRPB violations in the Allahabad high court.