GURUGRAM: The much-awaited Ambience Mall U-turn underpass on the Delhi-Gurugram border could be thrown open to the public by January 26 next year, provided South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) gives a go-ahead for shifting of the toll gates from Sirhaul by next week, NHAI has claimed. With the Environment Pollution Control Authority now dissolved, the highways authority has written to SDMC to expedite the process.
According to NHAI, it was the EPCA that had to give the necessary clearance for the shifting of the toll gates, but its dissolution has led to a procedural hurdle and the SDMC will now have to give its nod. “But this has to be done urgently if the underpass has to be opened on or before Republic Day,” said an NHAI official.
In a letter to the SDMC, the highways authority has also proposed to bear the cost of the shifting of the toll gates and asked the Delhi corporation to prepare an estimate for the same. “Previously SDMC had agreed to facilitate the shifting of the toll gates without any delay. But it’s been a year of correspondence and the matter is still stuck. Thus we’ve proposed that NHAI will bear the cost of the shifting,” the official added.
SDMC, however, is yet to take any call. “We’ve received their proposal and it is under consideration. EPCA may have been dissolved but a new commission has come in its place. We have to see if any permission or clearance is needed from their end. We’ll respond to their proposal soon,” said an SDMC official.
The highways authority and its contractor have claimed that the shifting of the MCD toll gates has been delayed due to bureaucratic hurdles and the u-turn taken by SDMC on its previous commitment of facilitating the temporary shifting of toll gates coming in the alignment of the Ambience Mall U-turn on the Delhi-Jaipur side of the highway. “We have been pursuing the matter since July, hoping to complete the box work on the underpass smoothly at a time when vehicular pressure was extremely low,” said an official.
As per the project contractor, the operation of toll gates will be disrupted while the construction work on the box portion of the underpass is underway. While the operations on lane numbers 2 and 3 will be partially affected, the operations on lanes 4, 5, and 6 shall be completely disrupted during the construction work. Thus, it has been suggested that for the time being MCD should shift these lanes towards the Delhi side.