NEW DELHI: No construction will be allowed along 15 metres on either side of greenfield and access-controlled bypasses and Ring Roads to be built by Union govt across states, as part of a policy the road transport ministry is in the process of finalising. State govts will have to notify these as “No Construction Green zone” under their planning laws, prohibiting any development activity.This will be the major thrust of the ministry’s “access-controlled Ring Roads/bypass” policy for decongesting major cities to ensure such stretches don’t face congestion due to ribbon development. Ribbon development refers to linear development along roads, with buildings coming up with direct access to transportation networks.In response to a question on how the ministry is addressing the problem of unregulated ribbon development along ring roads and bypasses at a recent meeting of PPPAC, an inter-ministerial panel for appraisal of projects built in Public Private Partnership mode, it said, “Under the proposed policy, emphasis is on regulated development along proposed bypasses. The policy would require a development control zone of 15m on either side of the NH bypass or ring road being notified by the state govt as a green zone under the planning laws enacted by the state, where development shall be prohibited unless it is for public transport or mobility infrastructure, public utility infrastructure like electricity, water or sewerage pipeline or green zone infrastructure”.The ministry also said that beyond the no-construction green zone, state govts can plan, develop, or regulate the development of residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional infrastructure within a two-km radius on either side of the bypass or ring road. This will facilitate economic activity using the ring road or bypass as the centre of development in a regulated manner.Access to ring roads and bypasses would be only through service roads, which would be constructed at the time of project development, and entry to the main carriageway would be provided only through slip roads or interchanges, the ministry said.Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked the ministry to come up with a model for development of Ring Roads and bypasses by this month end. He has also instructed the ministry to put in place a permanent mechanism or institutional set-up for proper planning and mapping of such projects by the end of August.