UP govt sets up panel to review notified area of Yeida

The move comes as large parts of the notified area remain untouched by development, and it may take several decades for urbanisation to reach the outer villages

GREATER NOIDA: The Uttar Pradesh government has set up a committee to review the notified area of the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (Yeida), which covers area ranging from Gautam Budh Nagar till Agra consisting of 1,150 villages, said the authority on Wednesday.

Officials said the panel will explore whether the number of villages under Yeida can be reduced to around 300, with the rest managed through district-level bodies or road-based development plans. (HT Photos)

The move comes as large parts of the notified area remain untouched by development, and it may take several decades for urbanisation to reach the outer villages.

To be sure, a notified area is earmarked by government for a planned development.

“The committee’s objective is to make the authority’s master plan more practical and suitable to the needs of the urbanisation. Where you don’t have a master plan, how will you pass any layout for the planned development. Noida took 50 years to develop 20,000 hectares. One can imagine how much time it will take to develop 82,000 hectares. Therefore, there is a need to resize the development zone at this stage before it is too late,” said Yeida’s chief executive officer RK Singh.

The state government constituted Yeida in 2001 (then as Taj Expressway Industrial Development Authority) with jurisdiction over 1,187 villages across six districts—Gautam Budh Nagar, Bulandshahr, Aligarh, Hathras, Mathura and Agra.

In 2023, the notified area expanded from 2,689 sq km to 3,352 sq km, even though the number of villages was reduced to 1,149. Of these, Mathura has the highest share (415 villages), followed by Hathras (358), Gautam Budh Nagar (131), Bulandshahr (95), Aligarh (92) and Agra (58).

Currently, Yeida’s jurisdiction is divided into two phases. Phase 1 covers 226 villages in Gautam Budh Nagar and Bulandshahr across 759 sq km, where most of the ongoing industrial activity is concentrated.

Phase 2 spans 2,593 sq km across 923 villages in Aligarh, Mathura, Hathras and Agra, for which the state government approved the Master Plan 2031 earlier this year. This paved the way for new urban centres at Raya (Mathura), Tappal-Bajna (Aligarh), New Agra and Hathras, together spanning nearly 82,000 hectares.

Yeida has already prepared detailed project reports (DPRs) for the Tappal-Bajna and Raya urban centres, covering more than 11,000 hectares each, while consultants are working on plans for Agra and Hathras.

However, officials admit full development will take at least 15–20 years. This has raised the question of how to deal with the remaining notified villages that may not see master plans in near future.

Officials said the panel will explore whether the number of villages under Yeida can be reduced to around 300, with the rest managed through district-level bodies or road-based development plans. However, outright denotification is viewed as risky, as it could trigger unauthorised and unplanned growth.