Bulldozers roll out on 8.5 km Noida stretch

NOIDA: Work on the Noida section of the 32.5-km road linking the upcoming Noida International Airport in Jewar to the DND-Faridabad-KMP expressway near the Ballabhgarh bypass began on Thursday with district magistrate Manish Kumar Verma laying its foundation.
Once ready, the road will provide seamless connectivity between Noida, Greater Noida, Delhi and Faridabad by directly linking Jewar to the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway — which connects with the DND-Faridabad Expressway near Sohna. It will also connect Yamuna Expressway and Eastern Peripheral Expressway.

National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials said 8.5 km of the link road will come up in Gautam Budh Nagar and the rest in Haryana. The entire stretch is set to be developed in two years.
In GB Nagar, the link road will cross villages Dayanatpur, Ballabhnagar, Karolli Bangar, Falonda Bangar, Amarpur and Jhuppa. In Haryana, it will cut through 15 villages, including Bahpur Kala, Mohiyapur, Mohna, Hirapur, Mohammadpur, Panhera Khurd, Chanawali, Shahupura, etc.
On July 6, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari announced that the Centre has approved a budget of Rs 2,414.7 crore for the greenfield connectivity project.
While the government has announced compensation at Rs 3,640 per square metre of land acquired, a section of farmers have demanded a higher payout of Rs 5,500 per square metre.
A group of project-affected farmers staged a protest at Dayanatpur village on Thursday demanding better compensation. Rakesh Kumar, one of the protesters, claimed the affected farmers have not received compensation for their land yet. “But the district administration has laid the foundation of the project,” he said.
SDM Jewar Abhay Singh told TOI there are around 400 farmers in six villages whose land, about 65 hectares, has been acquired for the link road project.
“The NHAI announced the compensation rate and some farmers are satisfied. However, a section wants higher compensation and approached the district magistrate for arbitration. The matter will be decided soon,” he said.