GURUGRAM: A transport nagar is yet to get off the drawing board, even two decades after it was proposed to solve the problem of illegal parking and free up city’s perennially congested roads.
Announced in 1997, the project had received an impetus in 2001, when the state government earmarked 90 acres in Sector 33, off the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway near Rajiv Chowk. The prime land was supposed to be developed as a commercial hub with parking facilities for trucks, basic amenities for drivers and offices for 500-odd city-based transporters.
However, with the government doing little to realise the project, squatters have taken up a large chunk of the allotted land, leaving transporters and truck drivers in the lurch. Sources claimed as on date, only 33 acres was free of encroachment at the site. Several residential buildings and commercial outlets have come up illegally at the site over the years. And it’s still anyone’s guess as to when this transport nagar will take shape.
“Encroachers have built houses, some up to seven storeys tall, there. These constructions were not done overnight, but the authorities didn’t take action. Soon, the remaining land, too, would be encroached upon,” said Ashwani Sharma, president, Automobile Carriers’ Welfare Association, Gurgaon.
Over the years, the transporters have approached all competent authorities, right from the district administration and Huda to CMO, demanding speedy development of the area, but in vain.
Last year, the Huda and DTCP decided to develop only the encroachment-free area (then almost 40 acres) as the transport hub. However, no action has been taken in that direction either, allowing encroachments to continue.
“There are over 500 transporters and 15,000 trucks in Gurgaon. We need a place to park these heavy vehicles. The transport nagar would have been a one-stop place for all commercial transportation needs. It will bring more business to the city. The government should act,” said Daman Diwan, general secretary of the association.
Huda administrator
Dr Chandrashekhar Khare said they were now planning to replicate the Faridabad model to develop the proposed transport nagar.
“We have instructed the estate officer to study the way transport nagar in Faridabad has been developed, and conduct a survey of the designated plot in Gurgaon. Allotments (of offices) will be done in a similar manner on the basis of the survey report,” added Khare.
Announced in 1997, the project had received an impetus in 2001, when the state government earmarked 90 acres i... Read More
