NHAI yet to get land for shifting Kherki Daula toll plaza to Pachgaon

GURUGRAM: The Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) is yet to give land to National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for a new toll plaza at Pachgaon. NHAI had asked for 40 acres to shift the Kherki Daula toll plaza to Pachgaon but HSIIDC has been able to acquire only 38 acres.
In August 2018, HSIIDC deposited Rs 30 crore with the Gurgaon district revenue officer for giving land to NHAI but there has been no handover of land to NHAI from Chandigarh. Subhash Vats, assistant general manager, HSIIDC, said, “Till we get orders from Chandigarh, the land cannot be transferred. Some land issue has come up on around two acres of the 40 acres required for the toll plaza and now it is stuck in litigation.”

Initially, the Kherki Daula toll plaza was supposed to be shifted to Sehrawan but the plan was changed after environmentalists protested against it, saying the area was a wildlife corridor.

According to NHAI officials, the 36-lane toll plaza proposed at Pachgaon will ensure smooth flow of traffic. Traffic congestion is often witnessed at the Kherki Daula toll plaza which has 25 lanes. “We cannot stop operations at the Kherki Daula toll plaza till we build a new one at Pachgaon. Once the location is finalised, it will take the agency around 10 months to set up the toll plaza,” said a senior NHAI official. Around 70,459 vehicles cross the Kherki Daula toll plaza on a regular basis and the toll collected is Rs 40 lakh per day.

The new toll plaza will be at the 2km mark of the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal expressway. Presently, HSIIDC can give only 38 acres to NHAI. “We can’t take 38 acres as we have to construct all 35 lanes,” said the NHAI official.

Meanwhile, S Raghuraman, the CEO of Millennium City Expressway Private Limited (MCEPL) which manages the Kherki Daula toll plaza said, “NHAI has not asked us to manage the Pachgaon toll plaza yet.” TOI has also learnt that Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority is building a a multi-modal transport system at Pachgaon which will be linked to the regional rapid transit system and the inter-state bus service.

Meanwhile, residents have started an online petition to get the Kherki Daula toll plaza removed. Praveen Malik, spokesperson, United Association of New Gurugram, said, “We started a signature campaign involving residents of 30-plus societies in sectors 77-95 and already have 5,000 signatures.”