It is sometimes referred to as the "Saya of Uttar Pradesh" because it is close toDelhi, on the main route into Uttar Pradesh.[9] Recent construction[10] work has led to the city being described by a City Mayors Foundation survey as the second fastest-growing in the world.[11][12] Situated in the Upper Gangetic Plains, the city has two major divisions separated by theHindon River, namely Trans-Hindon on the west and Cis-Hindon on the east.[13][14]
A photograph of the Hindan Bridge taken in 1858 by Major Robert Christopher Tytler and his wife, Harriet. The Hindon River was the scene of a battle between the British and the Indian rebels in May 1857.
The city of Ghaziabad was founded in 1740 A.D. byGhazi-ud-Din II, who served as awazir in the court of Mughal emperorMuhammad Shah, and named it as "Ghaziuddinnagar" after his own name.[15] The name "Ghaziuddinnagar" was shortened to its present form, i.e. "Ghaziabad" with the opening of the Railways in 1864.[16][17][18][19] During the Mughal period, Ghaziabad and especially the banks of theHindon in Ghaziabad, remained a picnic spot for the Mughal royal family.[17]
Establishment of the Scientific Society here, during the same period is considered as a milestone of the educational movement launched bySyed Ahmad Khan.[20] TheScinde, Punjab & Delhi Railway, connectingDelhi andLahore, up untilAmbala through Ghaziabad was opened in the same year.[21] With the completion of theAmritsar-Saharanpur-Ghaziabad line of the Sind, Punjab and Delhi Railway in 1870,Delhi was connected toMultan through Ghaziabad, and Ghaziabad became the junction of theEast Indian Railway and Sind, Punjab and Delhi Railway.[22]
Ghaziabad, along withMeerut andBulandshahr, remained one of the three Munsifis of the District, under the Meerut Civil Judgeship during most periods of theBritish Raj.[23]
The provisional data derived from the 2011 census shows that Ghaziabad urban agglomeration had a population of 2,358,525, of which males were 1,256,783 and females were 1,101,742. According to official website ofGhaziabad, the population of Ghaziabad is 34,06,061 with 18,60,400 males and 16,60,412 females as of January 24, 2025 . The city is located in the state of Uttar Pradesh and is the largest city in western Uttar Pradesh. The literacy rate was 98.81%.[25] Ghaziabad is a subcategory B1 district of category B i.e. having socioeconomic parameters below the national average.[26] It is the second largest industrial city inUttar Pradesh afterKanpur.[27][28]
According to the final data, Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation had a population of 1,648,643 and a sex ratio of 885 females per 1000 males. Ghaziabad had a literacy rate of 84.78%. 12.67% of the population was under the age of 6. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes made up 13.68% and 0.18% of the population respectively.[30]
Hindi is the most spoken language. Other languages such as Urdu and Punjabi, are spoken by a minority. There is a smattering of speakers of other languages due to Ghaziabad's position in the Delhi metro area.[31]
Ghaziabad city is governed by theGhaziabad Municipal Corporation under theUttar Pradesh Municipal Corporation ActArchived 16 August 2017 at theWayback Machine, 1959.[32] Ghaziabad city is spread over 210 km2 (81 sq mi) of municipal area.[33] It upgraded from a Municipal Board to aMunicipal Corporation on 31 August 1994, following the 74th Constitutional Amendment Act.[33] Ghaziabad Municipal Corporation (or Nagar Nigam Ghaziabad) is divided into 5 zones - City Zone, Kavi Nagar Zone, Vijay Nagar Zone, Mohan Nagar Zone and Vasundhara Zone.[6] The Municipal Corporation comprises 100 wards, with councillors elected from each ward.[3][34] The local elections to all wards was last held in 2023.[35] The executive head is Nitin Gaur, the currentMunicipal Commissioner[citation needed] while the elected head is theMayor, Sunita dayal from theBJP.[36]In 2022, Assembly ElectionAtul Garg,Bhartiya Janta Party candidate won the election.
The municipality has the following departments: Swachh Bharat Mission, Public Works Dept, I.T Dept, Property Tax Dept, Health Dept, Street Light Dept, Water Works Dept, Law, Garden/Horticulture.[37] It has an executive committee composed of businessmen.[38]
In January 2020, it was announced that the police commissionerate system was likely to be introduced in Ghaziabad in phases.[40] The city police is under the state home department and is headed by Senior Superintendent of Police for the district.[41]
TheGhaziabad Development Authority (GDA), established 1977, is responsible for planning, development and construction of housing projects, commercial lands, land management and infrastructure.
Nagar Nigam Ghaziabad looks after the civic activities of the city. Other development agencies of the city include the Ghaziabad Development Authority, and the UP Jal Nigam. Themaster plan for the city is laid by the Town & Country Planning Department,Uttar Pradesh, which is department under theDepartment of Housing and Urban Planning for the state.[42]
The corporation supplies water and has nearly 2.35 lakh water connections, supplying nearly 388 MLD of water per day.[43] The city also receives water from theGanga through 50cusec (one cubic foot of water flow per second which translates into 28.32 litres) and 100 cusec plants[43] but a lot of areas in the city constituting multi-storied apartments do not receive Ganga water and rely on groundwater.[44] Treated water is supplied to only 36.2% of households.[45]
The municipality, as well as UP Jal Nigam sets upsewage treatment plants and water treatment plants for the city.[44] The Ghaziabad Development Authority is responsible for laying networks of sewer lines and piped drinking water supply.[45] Drinking water remains a concern with 55.6% of households accessing it from tube wells, bore wells and hand pumps.[45] Only 30.5% households are connected to piped sewer lines.[45]
As of 2019, Ghaziabad generates 1,000 metric tonnes of waste daily, some of which is sent toMeerut, while 300 metric tonnes are sent toPilkhuwa, while almost 200 metric tons is used in various GMC owned parks to createcompost.[46] The corporation also dumps garbage in Indirapuram landfill site, and would dump it in Pratap Viharlandfill until they stopped on the orders of aNational Green Tribunal committee.[46] The corporation also announced in September 2020 that it was creating 10 'garbage factories[47]' as a permanent solution to the city's waste problem.
Residential apartments nearVaishali metro station, GhaziabadMAIT Administrative Block in Ghaziabad.
Although connected by railway since 1865, it was not until 1940 that the first modern industry appeared in Ghaziabad. However, it was in the post-independence period that industry really expanded, with a further 22 factories opening in the four years after 1947. This development can be attributed to the influx of people from the newly formed Pakistan and the relocation of businesses from what was now the Pakistani province ofPunjab.[48] John Oakey and Mohan Ltd., one of India's largest concerns manufacturing coated and bonded abrasives, and originally functioning under the name of 'National Abrasives' atRawalpindi was shifted here under the proprietorship of 'Dyer Meakins' in 1947.[49] Subsequently, theMohan Meakin breweries were also set up in the year 1949.[50] This period also saw the development of Ghaziabad as one of India's most famous centres of the Oil Engines industry.[51]
In 1967, the municipal limits were extended up to the Delhi-UP border. Starting in the early 1970s, many steel-manufacturing units also came up in the city making it one of the primary industries of the city. This period also saw the emergence of theElectronics industry, with the setting up ofBharat Electronics Limited andCentral Electronics Limited[52] Over the years, planned Industrial development saw participation from major industrial houses of the country including Mohans (Mohan Nagar Industrial Estate, 1949), Tatas (Tata Oil Mills), Modis (Modinagar, 1933; International Tobacco Co. 1967), Shri Rams (Shri Ram Pistons, 1964), Jaipurias etc. and also significant participation through foreign capital in concerns such as Danfoss India Ltd. (estd. 1968); Indo- Bulgar Food Ltd. and International Tobacco Company (estd. 1967).[53]
A proposal has been made to widen[when?]National Highway 24 (NH-24) from four to fourteen lanes on the stretch between the Ghaziabad-Delhi border and Dasna. Many residential and commercial projects are being built along the highway.[54]
TheBlue andRed lines of Delhi Metro serve Ghaziabad and connect it withDelhi. The Red Line has 8 stations in the city, with its eastern terminusShaheed Sthal being located here. The Blue Line has 2 stations in Ghaziabad, viz.,Kaushambi, which serves the area ofKaushambi, andVaishali, which serves the areas of Vaishali,Vasundhara andIndirapuram.[55]
Hindon Airport is an airport serving Ghaziabad and has been operational since 2019. It is the second commercial airport in the Delhi–NCR afterIndira Gandhi International Airport. The airport was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of IndiaNarendra Modi on 8 March 2019. TheIndira Gandhi International Airport is the closest international airport. Hindon Airport currently operates flights to Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand, and Hubli, Karnataka.[62]
Ghaziabad has been ranked 18th best “National Clean Air City” (under Category 1 >10L Population cities) in India according to 'Swachh Vayu Survekshan 2024 Results'[63]
Ghaziabad has also emerged as one of the major educational destinations with many higher education colleges and institutes operating in the city. Some of the main institutes are:-
^Anu Kapur, In 1864, with the advent of the railways, the name was shortened to Ghaziabad for administrative purposes p. 83-85,Mapping Place Names of India
^ab"history1". nagarnigamghaziabad.com.Archived from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved14 September 2015.
^Saxena, Aruna (1989).Perspectives in industrial geography : a case study of an industrial city of Uttar Pradesh. New Delhi: Concept Pub. Co. p. 172.ISBN8170222508.
^Saxena, Aruna (1989).Perspectives in industrial geography : a case study of an industrial city of Uttar Pradesh. New Delhi: Concept Pub. Co. p. 92.ISBN8170222508.
^Saxena, Aruna (1989).Perspectives in industrial geography : a case study of an industrial city of Uttar Pradesh. New Delhi: Concept Pub. Co. pp. 97, 98.ISBN8170222508.
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