The Uttar Pradesh government has approved Rs 215 crore for two storm-water drains in Ghaziabad, and the bigger one comes with a road built on top of it. The Shahberi stretch is a 1,752-metre covered drain with the carriageway laid over the slab. For machine owners in the Ghaziabad-Noida belt, that means a long, narrow concrete job through a crowded corridor, and it lands in a region where winter pollution curbs can stop site work.
The quick facts
- Total approved: Rs 215 crore for two drains, under the state’s urban flood and smart water drainage scheme, for Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation.
- Shahberi: a 1,752 m covered drain from the railway line near the South Side Industrial Area, past ABES College, to Shahberi, with a road built over it. Rs 131 crore.
- Kavinagar: Rs 84 crore to replace a deteriorated brick drain from the Kavinagar RDC flyover to Vivekanand Nagar.
- Still waiting: a third drain from Morta to Rajnagar Extension, about Rs 68 crore, with 1,080 m covered and 2,220 m open.
What Ghaziabad got approved
Amar Ujala’s Ghaziabad bureau and Royal Bulletin both reported the approval on 12-13 October, quoting Mayor Sunita Dayal. Both give the same Rs 215 crore total and the Rs 84 crore Kavinagar figure. Royal Bulletin puts Shahberi at Rs 131 crore, which is exactly the balance, and says the scope includes widening as well as the drain. Neither paper names a contractor, a tender date or a completion period, and neither gives the drain’s width or depth.
Which machines does a covered drain under a road need?
Divide Rs 131 crore by 1.752 km and you get roughly Rs 75 crore per km. A plain road-widening job comes in far below that, so the concrete box, not the paving, is probably taking most of the money. The work order runs like this: dig the trench, hold up the sides and pump out water, then pour the base, walls and cover slab, backfill and pave. Expect excavators sized to the street rather than the budget, backhoe loaders for utility crossings and short digs, transit mixers and a concrete pump on every pour, and tippers hauling spoil out of a built-up area. The road on top brings a roller and paver in at the very end.
Kavinagar is a different job. The old brick drain has to come out before the new one goes in, so a breaker on a mid-size excavator does the first round of work there.
What it means for buyers
Work is split into short sections, sites are tight, and hauling spoil through traffic is slow, so this is work for local owners on hire. Buying a new machine against it makes little sense. The calendar matters too. Ghaziabad falls under the NCR’s GRAP construction restrictions, which can halt earthwork and demolition during winter smog, and monsoon is a bad time to open trenches in a waterlogged area.
Our take: an approval in October still has to go through tendering, so the first real digging window is likely February to May 2027. We can’t confirm that because no timeline has been published. Fleet owners in Ghaziabad and Noida should watch for the corporation’s tender notice before moving any machines.
What to watch
- The municipal corporation’s tender for Shahberi and Kavinagar, which should give the drain section and the completion period.
- A decision on the Rs 68 crore Morta-Rajnagar Extension drain, where the 2,220 m open channel is plain earthwork.
- GRAP stage orders this winter, which decide whether any early work can start before February.
FAQ
How much has been approved for Ghaziabad’s drains?
Rs 215 crore: Rs 131 crore for the Shahberi covered drain with a road on top and Rs 84 crore for the Kavinagar-Vivekanand Nagar drain. A third drain, Morta to Rajnagar Extension at about Rs 68 crore, is still awaiting approval.
Who will build the Shahberi drain road?
No contractor has been named. Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation is the agency, and the reports do not mention a tender yet.
When will work start?
No start date or completion period has been published. NCR pollution curbs in winter and the monsoon both limit when trench work can run.
Related on DesiMachines: Greater Noida double-decker road at Shahberi: Rs 756 crore approved
Source: Amar Ujala
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