Set a deadline and remove Dwarka e-way hurdles, Gadkari tells Khattar

GURUGRAM: Union minister of road transport, highways and shipping Nitin Gadkari has asked the Haryana government to fix a timeline for the removal of obstacles in the way of the completion of the Dwarka Expressway.
Following this, chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar scheduled a meeting with departments concerned on March 31 to prepare a road map to clear obstacles in a time-bound manner.

Acquiescing to a Haryana government request, Gadkari in March 2016 had announced national highway status for the Dwarka Expressway. In August 2017, NHAI notified the under-construction highway as NH-248BB and prepared a plan to build an elevated corridor at the cost of Rs 7,000 on it. But so far, Huda has failed to hand over land for the road to NHAI.

With structures at New Palam Vihar and Kherki Daula, and series of towers carrying high-tension (H-T) cables at four different places, still obstructing the alignment of the Dwarka Expressway, Gadkari asked Khattar to intervene and put the project on fast-track.

In his letter, Gadkari mentioned NHAI has proposed different packages (details in box) to complete the Dwarka Expressway, at an estimated cost of Rs 7,000 crore. Bids for two packages have already been invited and opened. The Union ministry has also sought time from the Prime Minister to lay the foundation stone for the project.

Dwarka Expressway, as it stands now, is incomplete and Huda needs to clear all obstacles to make it a continuous stretch from Gurgram to Delhi.

“You would appreciate that resolution of the issues pending with the government of Haryana and its agencies in a time-bound manner is of utmost importance, as we intend to execute this project in a fast mode,” wrote Gadkari, asking Khattar to convene a meeting with concerned officers and give them a time frame to resolve the issues.

Earlier, the Union road transport and highways secretary had conducted a meeting on February 22 in Delhi to review the availability of RoW to complete the project. At the meeting, the Union transport ministry had highlighted the hindrances to the RoW, which Huda had committed to clear by September 2017, but made no subsequent progress.

The Dwarka Expressway, which was proposed as an alternative route between Delhi and Gurgram, has been delayed by a decade. Thousands of people who have invested in real estate projects in sectors along the route are now campaigning against the government for this delay.

The 29km-long road is to branch out from NH-8 near Shivmurti in Delhi and merge with NH-8 near Kherki Daula in Gurugram. Around 10km of the road is in Delhi, while the remaining 19km is in Gurugram. Land acquisition of around 14 hectares in Rangpuri and Samalkar, needed to complete the Delhi portion of the expressway, is in progress.

Of the 19km in Gurugram, road construction remains for a 2km stretch in New Palam Vihar, due to delay in removal of around 140 structures. Of these, 68 are houses built by owners who bought the land against general and special power of attorneys (GPA & SPA), on which Punjab and Haryana high court has granted stay.

Now, Huda has to submit a map to NHAI indicating these 68 structures, along with an action plan to remove other structures. Also, HVPNL has to share details of locations where underground H-T lines cross the expressway.