11 Reasons Why Lucknow Has Been Grabbing Eyeballs

Lucknow, the state capital of Uttar Pradesh, has shed its image of a Tier-II city and grown much beyond the expectations. The city is now witnessing developments ranging from transit corridors to rising information technology sector, and growing housing to revised master plans. PropGuide lists 11 such reasons that makes now a perfect time to invest or buy home in Lucknow:

• The recent Master Plan 2021 called for a revision as the local population, consisting of migratory workforce as well as settlers crossed the 45-lakh mark much ahead of time. To meet the needs of 65 lakh people by 2031, the Town and Country Planning estimates that nearly 197 fringe villages to be brought into the fold of the master plan. This means with housing demand, facilities provided by the corporation, too, would move to these locations. Investors, keen on good returns in the long run, can look at these regions.

• Now when you head for shopping or for business, you won't have limited options in the name of Gomti Nagar and Hazratganj.  Faizabad Road, Rae Bareli Road and Sultanpur will soon be developed as commercial districts thereby pushing prices and values of properties along the residential corridors here.

• The Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) has also approved the construction of a 150-metre wide ring road around the city giving a boost to private projects in the vicinity.

• The master plan also makes a provision for a Knowledge Park in between Mohan Road and Jail Road. This area would comprise of higher education and coaching institutions. Inclusive urban planning would go a long way in helping the city achieve its smart goals.

• A 100-km Outer Ring Road (ORR) will surround city's periphery and include all the new townships, housing projects, CG City, Awadh Shilp Gram and cricket stadium developing on the outskirts. The feasibility report of ORR has already been submitted by the National Highways Authority of India or the NHAI to the Centre for approval.

• The Lucknow Metro, which boosts the connectivity within the city, will be a driving force for the growth real estate corridors alongside and will also ensure that the city embraces a far more effective and dependable means of public transport. Moreover, to further encourage commercial space along with residential development, the authorities have been inviting bids for eight of the planned Metro stations. Perhaps the big news is that as of November 2017, that is within 70 days of it starting its operation, ridership has crossed the 10 lakh mark. This is an indicator that the metro has improved the transport scenario in the city and this public transport is a preferred choice among daily commuters.

• The Town and Country Planning department has also recommended terminals at regular intervals to check the movement of heavy vehicles like trucks and buses on the outskirts. This will help Lucknow up its livability index even on the roads.

• Government's pet projects- CG City and cricket stadium with a seating capacity of 50,000 people are coming up. Development of three hi-tech and several integrated townships, as well as the IT city, which is spread over an area of 100 acres, is being developed by ACL technologies and coming up in Chak Ganjaria.

• The city has also made it to the second list of Smart Cities released by the Centre. Although there may be a difference in what one sees on-ground and the plan envisioned, the Centre has decided to give assistance and funds to make the city come up in terms of livability quotient. Moreover, water supply and sanitation, waste management to transport, IT to e-governance, all these aspects have been highlighted. The benefits of developing Lucknow as a Smart City lies far away in the future but the aid will ensure that it is continuous.

• Lucknow is also emerging as a medical tourism spot. Multi-specialty hospitals such as Medanta with a capacity of 1,000 beds, Narayana Hrudalaya Aarogyam with 326 beds as well as women and child care hospitals, have made their way into the city. This is in proximity to Gomti Nagar extension, a central business district in itself.

• The infrastructure and facilities are being aligned to suit the growing needs of settlers. Luxury-serviced apartments are making inroads, too.