Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India

🇮🇳 Meerut is a city in Meerut district of the western part of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is an ancient city, with settlements dating back to the Indus Valley civilisation having been found in and around the area. The city lies 70 km (43 mi) north-east of the national capital New Delhi, within the National Capital Region and 430 km (270 mi) west of the state capital Lucknow.

As of 2011, Meerut is the 33rd most populous urban agglomeration and the 26th most populous city in India. It ranked 292nd in 2006 and is projected to rank 242nd in 2020 in the list of largest cities and urban areas in the world. The municipal area (as of 2016) is 450 km2 (170 sq mi). The city is one of the largest producers of sports goods, and the largest producer of musical instruments in India. The city is also an education hub in western Uttar Pradesh, and is also known as the "Sports City Of India". The city is famous for being the starting point of the 1857 rebellion against Company rule in India.

Industry Meerut is one of the important industrial towns of western Uttar Pradesh with several traditional and modern industries. It is traditionally known for handloom works and scissors industry. Meerut was one of the first cities in northern India where publishing was set up during the 19th century. It was a major centre of commercial publishing during the 1860s and 1870s.

Meerut is a rich agricultural area, which also contains land that is not suitable for harvest. Being in the proximity of Delhi, it is ideal for industry. It is home to 520 micro, small and medium scale industries. As of August 2006, Meerut has about 23,471 industrial units, including 15,510 small-scale units and 7,922 cottage industries.

Existing industries in the city include tyres, textile, transformer, sugar, distillery, chemical, engineering, paper, publishing, and sports goods manufacture. Prospective industries include IT and ITES.

Uttar Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation (UPSIDC) has two industrial estates in the city, namely Partapur and Udyog Puram.

Revenue generation Meerut has shown healthy numbers in terms of revenue generation. In 2005–06, Meerut occupied the fifth slot and contributed Rs 10,306 crore to the direct tax collection. It slipped to number six in 2006–07 when the revenue collection at Rs 11,203 crore was 18% lower than the target of Rs 13,627 crore. According to statistics compiled by the Income Tax department, Meerut contributed a Rs.10,089 crore to the national treasury in 2007/08, overall it was ranked 9th outperforming Lucknow, Jaipur, Bhopal, Kochi and Bhubaneshwar.

Air The nearest airport is the Indira Gandhi International Airport which is about 100  km away. The Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar Airport is located at Partapur. It was proposed by the state government that the airstrip be converted to an international airport to reduce pressure on Delhi airport. However, Plans to expand the Domestic airport were called off after protests against land acquisition started in other parts of the state. Following an accident in May 2012, the city administration barred private flights from using the airstrip.

Road Meerut is well-connected by road to major cities like Delhi, Noida, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Haridwar, Bulandshahr etc. A large number of people commute to Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad and Gurgaon every day for work. Three national highways (NH-58, NH-119 & NH-235) pass through Meerut. The Delhi–Meerut Expressway - a 90 km long controlled-access expressway connects Meerut with Delhi via Dasna in Ghaziabad district. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the expressway on 31 December 2015, and the expressway was completed and opened for public on 1 April 2021. The Upper Ganga Canal Expressway which passes through outskirts of the city is under development.

There are 2 main bus terminals, namely Bhainsali bus terminal and Sohrab Gate bus terminal from where Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (UPSRTC) buses ply to cities all over the state and all nearby cities. A JNNURM scheme was put in place. Low Floor City Buses (under JNNURM), Normal City Buses, auto rickshaws and rickshaws are convenient public transport options to commute within the city. Many new transport infrastructure projects like inner ring road, outer ring road and construction of new flyovers are proposed.

Railways Meerut lies on the Delhi–Saharanpur electrified railway line and has five railway stations: Meerut City, Meerut Cantt, Partapur, Mohiuddinpur and Pabli Khas. Meerut City railway station is the busiest. The railway line between Delhi and Meerut was constructed in 1864 and the Meerut Cantt station, which serves as a secondary railway station was founded in 1865.

About 20,000 passengers travel daily to Delhi and back. Around 27 pairs of trains run between Meerut and Delhi, and four between Meerut and Khurja. Two trains are available for Lucknow daily, namely Nauchandi Express and Rajya Rani Express. A weekly train goes to Chennai and Kuchuvelli. Daily trains connect Meerut to Bombay, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Rajkot and cities in other states.

Metro Project On 30 December 2014, the Uttar Pradesh Cabinet had approved the proposed Metro Rail projects in Meerut, to boost the urban mass transport infrastructure in Meerut. The state government has nominated RITES Limited and Uttar Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation (UPMRC) for preparing the respective detailed project report (DPR) and as coordinator, respectively. The development authorities would be nodal agencies for DPR.

The metro project got the green signal from the divisional commissioner. It was decided in the meeting that the project would be along two corridors - Partapur to Pallavpuram Phase 2 and Rajban Market to Gokalpur village. The main stations on the first corridor will be Partapur, Panchwati Enclave, Rithani, Rithani West, Shatabdi Nagar, Devlok, Madhavpuram, Meerut Railway Station Road, Lajpat Bazaar, Begampul, Gandhi Bagh, Lekha Nagar, Pallavpuram Dorli, Ansal City and Pallavpuram Phase 2. While the corridor in the Partapur-Pallavpuram Phase 2 route will cover 20 km and will have a total number of 18 stations in between, the 10 km-long route from Rajban Market to Gokalpur village will have nine stations.

Rapid Rail The NCR Transport Plan 2021 proposed a rail-based mass transit system called Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) between Delhi to Meerut with the Shahdara-Ghaziabad section scheduled for construction during 2001-11 and the Ghaziabad-Meerut section scheduled for 2011–21.

In September 2010, the RRTS was reported to be proposed between Anand Vihar and Meerut with the project in its initial stages. The cost was projected to be around ₹1,000 crore (US$130 million) with the expected time of the journey being 45 minutes. In November 2010, the train speed was proposed to be between 130 and 160 kmph with stations at Anand Vihar, Sahibabad, Mohan Nagar, Ghaziabad, Guldhar, Duhai, Moradnagar, Modinagar, Meerut South, Shatabdi Nagar, Meerut Centre, Begumpul, Meerut North, Pallavpuram.

On 14 December 2010, the NCR Planning Board, Meerut Development Authority (MDA) and Meerut Nagar Nigam approved this system. In August 2011, it was reported that the project tender had been awarded to Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System (DIMTS). The proposed system was to have dedicated trains between Anand Vihar and Meerut, which stop nowhere in between, and trains which stop at stations to be constructed after a gap of 4–5 km. The reported stations were Anand Vihar, Vaishali, Mohan Nagar, Meerut Road (Airtel Cut) Morta, Duhai, Muradnagar, Gang Nahar, Modi Nagar, Mohiuddinpur, Meerut Bypass Cut and Pallavpuram with completion expected in 2017. The track between Anand Vihar to Dabur was proposed to be underground with the rest of the track overhead.

On 11 July 2013, the Union Cabinet of India approved the formation of the National Capital Region Transport Corporation Limited (NCRTCL) with a seed capital of ₹100 crore (US$13 million). The corporation is to take up the construction of the 90 km-long Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor on a priority basis (along with two other corridors) with planned completion in 2016. It was reported that the Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for the three corridors were under the process of finalisation.

In December 2013, problems were reported in the proposed alignment of the Delhi-Meerut corridor. In January 2014, it was reported that the proposed alignment had to be changed due to objections by NHAI and the feasibility report had to be prepared again. The new proposed alignment increased the length from 90 km to 106 km.

Education Meerut is an education hub of Western Uttar Pradesh with near about four or five universities, approximately 50 engineering colleges, 23 management colleges, seven pharmacy colleges, four colleges offering hotel management, one college offering fashion design, over 150 academic colleges and over 50 schools. The city is home to Chaudhary Charan Singh University (formerly Meerut University), Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, Swami Vivekanand Subharti University, Shobhit Institute of Engineering & Technology and IIMT University. The city has one government-run engineering college, Sir Chhotu Ram Institute of Engineering and Technology, a constituent college of Chaudhary Charan Singh University. There are schools affiliated to recognised boards such as ICSE, CBSE, IB and the state board. One such school is the St. John's Sr. Sec School (established by Begum Samru) which is over 130 years old, also the first IB school in Uttar Pradesh was Vidya Global school.

Shobhit Institute of Engineering & Technology is the only Deemed-to-be University in Meerut district. It was notified in 2006 by Ministry of HRD, Government of India u/s 3 of UGC Act 1956.

Shri Venkateshwara University recognised by UGC, located in Amroha near Meerut.

IIMT Engineering College which is now called IIMT University is the oldest engineering institute of Meerut district. It was established in 1997.

Chaudhary Charan Singh University (CCSU) is a public and state university which has many degree colleges affiliated to it. They fall in two divisions: Saharanpur and Meerut with nine districts including Saharanpur, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Shamli, Gautam Budh Nagar, Bagpat, Hapur, Bulandshahr and Ghaziabad administered by Vice-Chancellor and Registrar (PCS officer). The Indian Film and Television Institute is located at the western bypass of the city. The city has three medical colleges: Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial Medical College, Subharti Medical College and Mulayam Singh Yadav Medical College & Hospital.