Greater Noida: Illegal parking lot eats up green belt near Gaur City

GREATER NOIDA: Around 30 vehicles are almost always parked outside a commercial complex in Gaur City, cutting into what should have been a 50-metre-long green belt in Greater Noida West.
Residents said on Sunday that the Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) had imposed fines for unauthorised parking last year, but things have gone back to business-as-usual.
“Two years back we planted several neem saplings to make the area more green. But all of these were destroyed by illegal parking. We have been requesting the Authority to remove these vehicles but nothing has been done till now,” said Anita Prajapati, a resident of Gaur City.
When asked, an authority official said GNIDA “will take action tomorrow (Monday) morning.”
The issue, according to the residents, is that the shopping complex has no parking services on its premises. All shopkeepers and customers end up parking at the spot, they said. The lack of greenery around Gaur City, where thousands of residents already live right next to traffic-heavy roads, is also adding to pollution.
“Green spaces are being destroyed. The area is almost always dusty. Planting trees is the only hope for us. That too is not protected,” said Manoj Kumar, who also lives in Gaur City.
Another resident of the township Manish Srivastava said, “We are again thinking of planting saplings in the encroached area. Earlier this space used to have a lot of greenery but it has been converted into a desert.”