Faridabad

Faridabad फ़रीदाबाद ਫਰੀਦਾਬਾਦ
Faridabad Show map of Haryana Faridabad Show map of India
Coordinates: 28°25′16″N 77°18′28″E / 28.4211°N 77.3078°E / 28.4211; 77.3078Coordinates: 28°25′16″N 77°18′28″E / 28.4211°N 77.3078°E / 28.4211; 77.3078
Country	India
State	Haryana
District	Faridabad
Established	1607
Founded by	Sheikh Farid
Named for	Sheikh Farid
Government
• Type	Municipality
• Body	Municipal Corporation of Faridabad
• Mayor	Ashok Arora
Area
• Total	742.9 km2 (286.8 sq mi)
Elevation	198 m (650 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	1,404,653[1]
• Density	2,421/km2 (6,270/sq mi)
Demonym(s)	Faridabadi
Languages
• Official	Hindi, Punjabi
Time zone	IST (UTC+5:30)
Telephone code	0129
Vehicle registration	HR-51 HR-29 HR-38(Commercial) DL-16(Delhi NCR)
Website	faridabad.nic.in mcfbd.com

Faridabad is the largest city in the north Indian state of Haryana in Faridabad district. It is a leading industrial centre and situated in the National Capital Region bordering the Indian capital New Delhi.^[2] It is surrounded by Delhi to its North, Noida to its North East, Greater Noida to its East and Gurgaon to its West. The river Yamuna forms the eastern district boundary with Uttar Pradesh. Government of India included it the second list of Smart Cities Mission on 24 May 2016.^[3]

The newly developed residential and industrial part of Faridabad (Sec. 66 to 89) between the Agra Canal and the Yamuna River is commonly referred as Greater Faridabad. The area is being developed as a self-sustained sub-city with wide roads, tall buildings, malls, educational institutions, and health and commercial centres. Sectors 66 to 74 are Industrial Sectors whereas Sectors 75 to 89 are Residential Sectors.^[4]

The Delhi-Agra National Highway No.2 (Sher Shah Suri Marg) passes through the middle of the Faridabad district. The city has many railway stations on the Delhi-Mathura double track broad-gauge line of the North Central Railway. The railway stations of Old Faridabad and Faridabad New Town are the major ones.

Faridabad is also a major industrial hub of Haryana.^[2] 50% of the income tax collected in Haryana is from Faridabad and Gurgaon.^[5] Faridabad is famous for henna production from the agricultural sector, while tractors, motorcycles, switch gears, refrigerators, shoes and tyres constitute its primary industrial products.

History

Seeking to protect the Grand Trunk Road (now National Highway 2), Farid, the treasurer of Mughal Emperor Jahangir, founded the city in 1607 AD, building a fort and a mosque. A pargana was later centred on Faridabad, which the ruler of Ballabgarh held as a jagir.^[6]

Geography

Faridabad is at 28°26′N 77°19′E / 28.43°N 77.32°E / 28.43; 77.32.^[7]

Climate

Faridabad
Climate chart (explanation)
J F M A M J J A S O N D     18     21 8     26     23 10     25     30 15     33     36 21     24     39 26     72     39 28     168     35 27     195     34 26     105     34 25     9     33 19     4     28 13     9     22 8 Average max. and min. temperatures in °C Precipitation totals in mm Source: Weather 2[8]
Imperial conversion J F M A M J J A S O N D     0.7     70 46     1     73 50     1     86 59     1.3     97 70     0.9     102 79     2.8     102 82     6.6     95 81     7.7     93 79     4.1     93 77     0.4     91 66     0.2     82 55     0.4     72 46 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches

Administration

The list is as below:^[9]

S. No.	Department	Title	Position Holder	Qualification
1	Civil	Deputy Commissioner & District Magistrate	Chander Shekhar	IAS
2	Civil	Additional Deputy Commissioner	Sh. Aditya Dahiya	IAS
3	Judiciary	District & Sessions Judge	Sh. Darshan Singh
4	Police	Commissioner	Dr. Hanif Qureshi	IPS

Economy

The Faridabad Small Industries Association claims that Faridabad and Gurgaon districts account for almost 56% of the income tax collected in Haryana.^[2] Faridabad has been selected as one of the hundred Indian cities to be developed as a smart city under PM Narendra Modi's flagship Smart Cities Mission.^[10]

Taxation

Faridabad's share in total VAT collection in the state was 17% in 2012-13. For the same period, Faridabad's contribution to Central Sales Tax was 15% and to Entertainment Tax was 13%.^[11][12]

Agriculture

Faridabad is the largest exporter of henna (Mehandi) in India. According to the Faridabad Henna Manufacturing Association, the sale of henna from Faridabad is worth an estimated ₹250 crore (US$37 million)–₹300 crore (US$45 million) annually.^[13]

Central government offices

Many directorates of different union government ministries are headquartered in Faridabad including Central Ground Water Board, Department of Plant Quarantine and Central Insecticide Lab,^[14] and Union Government Offices from Haryana including the Commissioner of Central Excise within Department of Revenue, Government of India, Department of Explosives, and Department of Labour. The Apex Central Training Institute of the Department of Revenue, Government of India, National Academy of Customs Excise & Narcotics is located at Sector 29. The National Power Training Institute, an autonomous body under Ministry of Power, Government of India has a corporate office in Faridabad.^[15] The city also hosts the National Institute of Financial Management, which serves as training academy for accounting and financial services.^[16]

Also headquartered here is NHPC Limited ^[17] which is a Central PSU under Ministry of Power, Government of India and the largest Hydro-power Company in India.

Industries

Faridabad is the industrial capital of Haryana.^[2] As of 2013, out of total 11,665 registered working factories in Haryana, 2,499 were in Faridabad which was followed by Gurgaon with 2,116 factories. According to a study, growth of Faridabad has been declined in last 2 decades, share of Faridabad in investment is less than 1% and 93% of investment is in paper industry. The industrial contribution of Faridabad to Haryana’s revenue was declined from 29% to 22% in 2012-13.^[12] Faridabad is home to large-scale companies like India Yamaha Motor Pvt. Ltd., Havells India Limited,^[18] JCB India Limited, Indian Oil (R&D),^[19] Larsen & Toubro (L&T),^[20] Agri Machinery Group (Escorts Limited), Whirlpool India Ltd., ABB Group, Goodyear India Ltd., Bata India Ltd and Eicher Tractor Ltd.^[21] Eyewear e-tailer Lenskart and healthcare startup Lybrate have their headquarters in Faridabad.^[22][23] More than 5,000 units of auto parts producers are based in Faridabad.^[24] Lakhani Armaan Group has set up manufacturing facilities at Faridabad (Haryana).

Real Estate

Faridabad has emerged as the most attractive real estate investment destination, after Gurgaon, Delhi and Noida, followed by Alwar, according to a recent study on ‘Determinants of real estate: A survey of Delhi NCR’.^[25]

Transportation and Connectivity

Rail

Faridabad is on the broad gauge of the New Delhi - Mumbai Line. New Delhi and Hazrat Nizammudin Railway Station is about 25 km away from Old Faridabad railway station. The trains for big cities like Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad are easily accessible from here. Local trains runs between New Delhi to Faridabad.^[26]

Metro

Delhi Metro Violet Line connects Faridabad with Delhi. The extension of Violet Line to Faridabad was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 6 Sepetmeber 2015.^[27] There are 9 metro stations in Faridabad corridor of Delhi Metro which are all elevated.^[28] Further Delhi Metro will be extended to Ballabgarh from Faridabad and the work is likely to be completed by 2017.^[29] DMRC is expecting more than 2.2 lakh passengers from Delhi and Faridabad to use this stretch.^[30] Metro rail service would be extended up to Greater Faridabad after its expansion from YMCA Chowk to Ballabgarh is done.^[31] Haryana government is also planning to link Faridabad and Gurgaon by Metro.^[32] Currently the Faridabad corridor of Delhi Metro Violet Line is the longest metro corridor in the National Capital Region (NCR) consisting of 9 stations and the total length of corridor being 14 km.^[33]

The 9 metro stations are Sarai, NHPC Chowk, Mewala Maharajpur, Sector 28, Badkal Mor, Old Faridabad, Neelam Chowk Ajronda, Bata Chowk and Escorts Mujesar.^[34]

Road

Faridabad is well connected with Delhi through Delhi Faridabad Skyway (Badarpur Flyover).^[35]

• Two upcoming bridges over Yamuna will connect Greater Faridabad to Noida and Greater Noida. One of the bridges is proposed to link Noida's Sector 168 with Faridabad's Badoli village (Near Bypass Road)^[36] The other bridge would connect Faridabad-Noida-Ghaziabad (FNG) expressway from Noida's Sector 150 to National Highway 2 in Faridabad which is a part of the planned Eastern Peripheral Expressway also termed as National Expressway 2 (India) or KGP (Kundli-Ghaziabad-Palwal) Expressway. Government has already approved construction of the road connecting Faridabad and Greater Noida that will improve the connectivity with clearances received from both Haryana and Uttar Pradesh Governments^[37] The much-awaited FNG (Faridabad-Noida-Ghaziabad Expressway) is finally coming on track and will provide fast connectivity to daily commuters of the area once complete; apart from this, it is also emerging as an excellent stretch for real estate development. FNG Expressway is around 56 km long with 19.9 km in Noida-Greater Noida region, 8 km in Ghaziabad, while the rest 28.1 km is in the Faridabad region, especially the developing sectors of Neharpar. According to the plan, FNG from Noida side will become operational in the next 14 months while it would take three years for the whole stretch to become fully operational^[38] The completed expressway designed by IIT-Roorkee will offer commuters direct connectivity between Noida and Greater Faridabad and put an end to massive traffic jams^[39]
• Kalindi Kunj Bypass Project has been approved which will connect DND Flyway at Maharani Bagh, Delhi to Faridabad Bypass Road near Badarpur Border. According to PWD officials, the bypass will connect the DND Flyway, cutting across the Agra Canal along the Yamuna, which runs perpendicular to Sarita Vihar and ends near Badarpur border, which further connects to Faridabad. "Commuters heading from east Delhi, South Delhi and Noida to Faridabad will be able to avoid the road to Ashram Chowk completely and that will help decongest the area for local users. The estimated cost of the project is Rupees 200 Crores and will be competed in two phases. In the first phase the stretch from Maharani Bagh (at DND Flyway) to Kalindi Kunj will be completed. In the second phase the stretch from Kalindi Kunj to Faridabad will see completion^[40] The bypass will dramatically reduce travel time between Delhi and Faridabad as it will serve as an alternative to Mathura Road. Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure (Planning and Engineering) Centre (UTTIPEC) gave the Public Works Department (PWD) its consent to move ahead after Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung gave the approval to the project.^[41]

HUDA is soon going to start construction work of four additional bridges connecting Faridabad with Greater Faridabad.^[42] The first bridge will connect Sec. 74 and 75 in Greater Faridabad with Sec. 3 & 8 in Faridabad. The second bridge will connect Sec. 81 and 86 in Greater Faridabad with Sec. 14 and 17 in Faridabad. The third bridge will connect Sec. 86 and 87 in Greater Faridabad with Sec. 17 and 18 in Faridabad.^[42] The fourth bridge will connect Sec. 89 in Greater Faridabad with Sec. 19 and 29 in Faridabad. All bridges will be of six lanes^[43]

Air

Faridabad is served by Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi which is around 35 km from Faridabad.^[26] The airport is one of the busiest airports in India and provides domestic and international air connectivity.^[44]

Demographics

As per 2011 census, Faridabad had a population of 1,404,653 out of which males were 750,446 and females were 654,207.^[1] The literacy rate was 83.04 per cent.^[45]

Education

Schools

Faridabad has a large number of private schools. Schools like Delhi Public School, Manav Rachna International School, Apeejay School and Modern Vidya Niketan, Sector 17 are among the top 10 schools in the city.^[46] and Hindustan Times - C fore Top Schools Survey.^[47] Schools in Faridabad are affiliated either with the All-India Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) or the Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE) boards. The language of instruction is English or Hindi. Besides these there are many government run public schools which are administered by Haryana Board of School Education.^[48] There are also three Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan schools in the city which are affiliated to Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE) and are run by central government.^[49] Some of the institutes for primary and secondary education are:

Higher education

There are numerous educational institutions in Faridabad that offer higher education courses. These colleges provide courses in different field like science, arts, commerce, engineering, MCA, etc. Some of the colleges that offer graduate and undergraduate courses include:

Healthcare

There are many private hospitals in Faridabad including:^[50] Besides these there are also many government hospitals in the city.^[51]

Sports

Cricket

The cricket stadium in the city is Nahar Singh Stadium has a seating capacity of approx. 25,000 and has hosted 8 international cricket matches and a league cricket match between Mumbai Heroes and Bhojpuri Dabbang of Celebrity Cricket League.

Tourism

Badkhal Lake

Badkhal Lake was located in Badkhal village, 8 km from Delhi Border. The lake fringed by Aravalli hills was a man-made embankment which has now dried up.^[52] The lake complex, spread over 40 acres, had come up in 1969.^[53] In June 2015, Haryana government decided to revive the Badkhal lake here to once again attract tourists.^[54]

SurajKund Tourist Complex and International Crafts Fair

Situated at a distance of around 8 km from South Delhi. It is a 10th-century water reservoir which believed to be built by Tomar king Surajpal.^[55][56] Place is known for its annual fair "Surajkund International Crafts Mela" hosted by Haryana Tourism Corporation and Surajkund Mela Authority jointly, in collaboration with the union ministries of tourism, textiles, culture and external affairs, from February 1 to 15.^[57] 2015 edition of fair was visited by 1.2 million visitors including 160,000 foreigners with more than 20 countries participating in fair.^[58] The Suraj Kund Lake^[59] here is surrounded by rock cut steps.

2016 edition of Surajkund International Crafts Mela will be the 30th edition and People's Republic of China will be participating in the fair. Participation of the China will be the part of agreement signed between India and China in 2014 to celebrate year 2016 as "Year of China in India".^[60]

Anangpur Dam

The Anagpur Dam, located close to the Anagpur village (also called Arangpur) in Faridabad district of Haryana, India, is 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) away from the more famous Surajkund.

This unique Indian hydraulic engineering structure was built during the reign of King Anangpal of the Tomar dynasty in 8th century. It is approachable by road from Delhi from the Delhi - Mathura road. The ruins of the fortifications found in Anangpur village establishes by an inference that it was built by Anangpal as part of the Lal Kot that was developed as the first city of Delhi in the 8th century.^[61][62][63]

Religious Sites

•The ISKCON temple (33 sector )

Utilities

Faridabad has been selected as one of the 100 Smart Cities in India.^[65] A live talk show on making Faridabad ‘a smart city’ was organised at Municipal Corporation's Auditorium.^[66][67] Haryana Power Generation Corporation Ltd (HPGCL) is setting up a solar power plant at the site of a defunct thermal power plant in Faridabad. The power generator plans to set up the plant over 151.78 acres near Bata Chowk in the district that generated coal based energy in the past.^[68]

Environment

A petition was filed with National Green Tribunal (NGT) for protection of Aravalli from Faridabad waste disposal.^[69]

Notable people

Gallery

• 

  Replica of Muketshwar temple gate of Odisha at Surajkund mela

• 

  Faridabad street scene in the rain

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Faridabad.

Notes

References

• http://www.FaridabadYellowPages.com - A 2 Z about Faridabad
• "Faridabad", The Imperial Gazetteer of India, Vol. 12, Oxford at Clarendon Press, 1909, p. 51 

External links

• District Faridabad Official Web Site
• Municipal Corporation of Faridabad Official Website