2 years after states’ approval, work on key RRTS stretch awaits Centre nod

Gurgaon: Over two years after the first phase of the Delhi-Alwar corridor of the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS), which will run between Delhi and Shahjahanpur-Neemrana-Behror (SNB) Urban Complex in Rajasthan, was approved by the state governments of Haryana and Rajasthan, civil work on the project is yet to begin pending the final nod from the Centre.
According to officials from the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), Haryana and Rajasthan had approved the detailed project report (DPR) for the corridor in February and June 2019, respectively, following which the document was sent to the central government for approval.
“The DPR of the Delhi-Gurugram-SNB RRTS Corridor has been approved by state governments concerned and is under active consideration of the central government for approval. We are, however, doing pre-construction work at this stage so that we can start civil work as soon as the approval is received. Once we get the approval, we will be able to start the civil work within a month,” an NCRTC official said. The pre-construction activities in Gurgaon include shifting or modifying utilities and widening roads wherever required, officials said.
So far, officials have identified 22 electric high-tension (EHT) lines that are infringing on the corridor and need to be shifted for “uninterrupted construction” and operation. While 12 of these are being shifted by NCRTC, the remaining 10 are being shifted by the Power Grid Corporation of India in coordination with local authorities.
NCRTC is also shifting some power distribution lines between the Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited (IDPL) office in Dundahera and Rajiv Chowk. Around 80 per cent of this work has been completed.
In terms of road widening for the elevated sections of the corridor, officials said it was focusing on the stretch between the IDPL office and Atul Kataria Chowk, where around 90 per cent of the work has been completed.
In the first phase of the RRTS, three corridors — Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut, the Delhi-Gurgaon-SNB-Alwar and Delhi-Panipat — are being prioritised. The Delhi-Alwar corridor will be constructed in three phases, of which the first will be a 107-kilometre-long corridor between Sarai Kale Khan in Delhi and SNB Urban Complex that will run via Gurgaon. Around 83 kilometres of this stretch will fall in Haryana, while 22 kilometres in Delhi and two kilometres in Rajasthan. Of the 16 stations in this corridor, seven will be located in Gurgaon, of which two will be underground while the rest elevated. The travel time between the two extremes of the corridor will be 70 minutes.
Similar to the Delhi-SNB stretch of the Delhi-Alwar corridor, officials said the 103-kilometre-long Delhi-Panipat RRTS corridor is also awaiting approval from the central government. Work on the 82-kilometre Delhi-Meerut corridor, in contrast, is underway in full swing.
“The Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut corridor is at quite an advanced stage. We are expecting to be able to operationalise the first priority section of it by the end of next year though the targeted timeline was March 2023,” an NCRTC official said.