Rajnath to launch work for cultural centre

Greater Noida: A world-class cultural centre, modelled on the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi, is all set to come up in Greater Noida. Union home minister Rajnath Singh will lay the foundation stone for the centre on Friday. According to sources, while the project will be funded by the Union government, land had been allotted by Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) along the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway in Knowledge Park-II way back in 2001.
According to officials, the project is being coordinated by tourism minister Mahesh Sharma, who inspected the site last week. Work on the centre is expected to be completed by 2019.
In 2014, it was decided that the land alloted for the project would be used to carve out a heliport, but because of a high-tension line running through the area, the heliport was shifted to another area.It was then re-allotted for the culture center.
Speaking to TOI, Deepak Agarwal, chief executive officer, GNIDA, said that 25 acres of land have been allotted to the centre. “We have already given the land to the Union cultural department. They will work with us to complete the project. Funds for the project will come from the Centre,” he said.
The proposed project is expected to be the first fully integrated state-of-the-art cultural, convention, exhibition and entertainment precinct in the district. Intended to provide organisations, business executives, academics and professionals the opportunity to gather and interact in an informal environment, the centre will also have a separate paleontology department. It will also have a museum. A cultural hub, several auditoriums, open theaters, library and art galleries are also on the cards.