Nagpur:
Pardi flyover, which is being built by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), has no chance of meeting its deadline of March 2019.
Officials say that it might be completed by March 2020 if there are no further hitches. Work on the project started in May 2016 and is only 20% complete as of now. There is a fair chance of the cost escalating beyond the initial estimate of Rs 665 crore.
The main reason for the delay is failure of Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) to acquire land. NHAI needs about 4 hectares for a parking plaza and some more land on the roadside for the flyover itself.
NHAI project officer NL Yeotkar said that problems of land acquisition had been sorted out and the work will pick up speed after monsoon. “Municipal commissioner Virendra Singh held a meeting on Monday on this issue. He assured to hand over the land as soon as possible. Acquiring land in urban areas is quite difficult and we don’t blame NMC,” he added.
For the plaza, NMC was supposed to acquire forest department’s 1.614 hectare zudpi jungle land, 0.42 nazul hectare land and two private lands admeasuring 1.96 hectares. The process to acquire forest department land is almost complete. Here, the delay was on account of the forest department seeking land for afforestation. NHAI has given consent to provide 3.5 hectares in mouza Kautha for afforestation.
The process to acquire nazul land is almost complete and for other two private lands, the civic body is providing transfer of development rights (TDR) to the owners.
“We will apply for deletion in forest reservation after the joint measurement is completed,” said Yeotkar.
The acquisition of roadside land is, however, more problematic as private owners are reluctant to part with their possession. According to the official, there was an issue with MahaMetro but it has been finally sorted out.
TOI repeatedly tried to contact NMC estate officer RS Bhute, but his mobile phone was switched off.
Meanwhile, work on the Outer Ring Road (ORR) stretch from Jamtha (on Wardha Road) to Gondkhairi (on Amravati Road) to Pawangaon (on Bhandara Road) is 42% complete. The deadline for completion is July 2019. “The project will gather pace after monsoon,” said Yeotkar.
