Yeida approves detailed project report of Heritage City

The Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (Yeida) on Thursday said it has approved the detailed project report (DPR) of the Heritage City project to be developed on 2,965.2 acres of land along the Yamuna Expressway.
Yeida now will prepare the bid document that will contain the terms under which developers will be invited to work on the project aimed at creating facilities for Hindu devotees who visit Banke Bihari temple in Vrindavan area of Mathura.
Yeida officials said Heritage City will start near the 101km milestone of the Yamuna Expressway and end at the Banke Bihari temple, and a 6.9km long, and 100m-wide expressway will be built to connect the two points.
According to the DPR, the project has an estimated budget of ₹6,000 crore and when completed, it will consist of parking zone on 46 acres, convention centre on 42 acres, yoga centre, green zones, besides ancient historic area renovation, and homes for widows and ascetics, among other facilities.
“A single developer can take up the project raise it on a public-private partnership. However, the final terms will be approved in the bid document that will be ready in next one or two months. We hope to start work on the ground once Lok Sabha elections are over,” said a Yeida official, asking not to be named. Officials are not allowed to speak to the media when the model code of conduct ( for parliamentary elections) is in place.
Yeida said the 6.9km long expressway will have four lanes initially, and will be expanded to six lanes at a later stage.
Under the phase 1, the authority will develop 753 acres of the total of 2,965.2 acres at a cost of ₹1,200 crore. The work will include the revival of natural water bodies, among others, said officials.
“The river, canal, ponds and wetland all will be revived and protected. At least a 30m area on the periphery of water bodies will be developed as a buffer zone. For the Heritage City, we will need to acquire land from 12 villages located between Yamuna Expressway and the river Yamuna,” said the official quoted above.
The PWD will build an additional bridge across the Yamuna to improve connectivity so that visitors can easily park their vehicles in Heritage City, and travel to key temples, said the official.