Residents of Indirapuram are irked with the unchecked and blatant commercial activity being carried out in residential areas. After a quick recce around town, we discovered that the ground floor of most residential buildings had been converted into shops, showrooms or had been rented out to other businesses, openly flouting Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development Act of 1973.
Members of FedAOA had lodged a complaint with the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) in October last year. In their complaint, they had mentioned the areas where the number of violations was the most. They said the problem was worse in areas with row houses.
However, members said that despite their complaint, nothing had changed and the shops continued to do business.
Speaking to City Spidey, Alok Kumar, patron of FedAOA and a resident of Ahinsa Khand II, said that apart from being illegal, commercial activities in residential areas also caused a lot of other problems. "The areas with commercial activity are often prone to traffic congestion," said Kumar. "Food businesses being run from residential areas are the the worst. They generate a lot of daily waste, which typically ends up clogging sewers and drains. There is a fair chance that such commercial activities also enjoy government services such as electricity and water at residential instead of commercial rates."
Almost all residential areas across Nyay Khand, Gyan Khand, Abhay Khand, Ahinsa Khand and Niti Khand are affected by the problem. It is a common sight to see grocery stores, cloth showrooms, playschools, chemists, fast-food stalls and other such enterprises in residential areas.
City Spidey spoke to some of the shopkeepers about whether conducting businesses in residential areas was legal. Some were clueless that their shops were unlawful, and others refused to comment on the issue.
City Spidey took up the issue with Vijay Kumar Yadav, vice-chairman of GDA. Yadav said the Authority had already initiated action against such violators. "We have conducted a survey and discovered about 5,000 to 6,000 such illegal shops in Ghaziabad. We are now issuing warning notices to all violaters," he added.
