NHAI refuses to connect NPR with Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Wednesday refused to grant permission to remove a wall at the Kherki Daula junction to connect the Dwarka Expressway, also known the Northern Peripheral Road (NPR), to the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway.

In a letter to the Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP), the highways authority cited technical and legal reasons for refusing permission. The NHAI responded after the HSVP had sought permission to remove the wall last week.

The letter, a copy of which is with Hindustan Times, written by Ashok Sharma, project director, NHAI, stated that the matter of removal of boundary wall has been examined and it has been observed that the ministry of road transport and highways has already disallowed at-grade (at the surface level) connection of the NPR and the Southern Peripheral ROAD (SPR).

The letter further stated that as the NHAI has already been awarded the work for construction of a clover leaf, the request for at-grade connection of the NPR with NH8 cannot be accepted. HT had earlier reported that the NHAI was unlikely to give permission to remove this wall due to issues relating to concessionaire and legal agreements.

The refusal, however, is likely to act as a dampener for the residents of developing sectors, who were expecting that the highway authority would connect the NPR and the SPR with the highway.“we have a sought a meeting with the HSVP, GMDA and other agencies to discuss this matter. If the NHAI can allow the connectivity of the SPR with NH8, then what is the problem with the NPR?” asked Pravin Malik, a functionary of United Association of New Gurugram.

A senior HSPV official said that this matter would now have to be taken up at the state government level in Chandigarh.

First Published: Jan 18, 2019 15:23 IST