NOIDA: An AQI of 483 - when the permissible level is 100 - is finally forcing the Noida Authority to think green. On roads that don’t have footpaths, the Authority is planning to lay grass in an effort to provide some green stretch and provide a ' dust-free ' zone. In total, 315 km of road will be covered with grass across various sectors in the first phase of the project.While a 4.5 km stretch in Sector 82, opposite Kendriya Vihar , has already been converted into a ‘dust-free’ zone by laying of grass on both sides of the road, another 66 km will be ready by October 2. Some of the other areas selected include for the stretch include Sector 90, 138, areas near the hosiery complex, Sector 123 part 1 and 2, near Ajnara roundabout to Hindon-Pushta and the stretch from Sector 120 Raghav Global School to Sector 122.Even as the tendering process for Sectors 74, 75, 76, 77 etc. is underway, the authority claims to complete the remaining 245 km by the end of the year in December 2018."Dust-free zones are Noida Authority's major planks to tackle issues of air pollution in the city. The focus therefore is on making Noida greener. For this, a total of 315 km stretch along both sides of the roads in the city has been identified to be covered with grass. We have completed work along 4.5 km stretch of road in Sector 82. Work for the next 70 km would be completed in the next two months,” said Alok Tandon CEO Noida Authority.According to Tandon, green initiatives are ‘top most’ priority for the authority currently under which “Noida is witnessing massive afforestation drive whereby on Independence Day over one lakh saplings were planted across the city in a single day,” said Tandon.Rajeev Tyagi, GM Projects, Noida Authority told ToI that in order to attain the dust-free zones across the city “seven tenders have been cleared for 70 km stretch with a total of 12 tenders which we’ve invited for the entire 315 km area,” said Tyagi.

Stay updated with all the Noida Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.