Iffco Chowk underpass faces longer wait

GURUGRAM: The proposed relocation of the Iffco Chowk fuel station, coming in the way of a right-turn underpass being constructed for traffic coming from Huda City Centre, is likely to get delayed further.
For, the Gurugram sessions court on Monday rescheduled the hearing in a case related to the relocation of the fuel station for April 12, dashing Huda’s hope to get a speedy relief in the matter that has been hanging fire for various reasons for some time.

Huda’s move to relocate the petrol pump to make way for speedy completion of the underpass project hit a fresh hurdle earlier this year after a petition was filed at the district and sessions court. The petitioner had challenged the move to allocate a plot, originally earmarked for a taxi stand in Sector 42, to Iffco Chowk petrol pump’s owner Sukhjeet Mann. The petition also questioned the change made in the zoning plan to accommodate a fuel station in Sector 42.

The court, hearing the plea, had stayed the allotment of the plot then.

“We submitted all documents and was hoping for vacation of the stay that will pave the way for completion of the underpass, which is crucial to de-congest Iffco Chowk,” said a senior Huda official.The official further said Huda told the court that it was an infrastructure project and the authority had followed the government policy while changing the land plan.

According to sources, work on the underpass, which is part of the NHAI project being implemented for a complete overhaul of Iffco Chowk, is more than 90% complete. The remaining portion is held up due to the delay in shifting the fuel pump, which is hindering the alignment.

Recently, NHAI threatened to pull out of the Iffco Chowk project if the Haryana government failed to relocate the petrol pump at the earliest. Even Union road transport minister Nitin Gadkari had raised the issue with chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar during a recent meeting.

The Iffco Chowk project includes multiple flyovers and foot-over-bridge, apart from the right-turn underpass. A four-lane unidirectional flyover (from Delhi to Jaipur), is ready but still not operational due to the delay in shifting high tension towers.