GMDA assures land for Dwarka Expressway to be transferred to NHAI

The assurance by Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority came after the NHAI wrote to it seeking the transfer of land so that work on the Gurugram section of the expressway could begin soon.

The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) Tuesday said that it would hand over land for the Dwarka Expressway to the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) in the next 10 days.

The move comes after the highway authority, on November 9, wrote to the seeking the transfer so that work on the Gurugram section of the Expressway, which has been delayed for almost eight years, could begin soon.

“The ownership of land will be transferred from Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran to NHAI within 10 days,” said Vivek Joshi, CEO, GMDA. “For the allotment of alternative plots, a reminder has been sent to MD, HSIIDC for early action.” He also said that other issues required to ensure early start of work would also be resolved at the earliest.

The total length of Dwarka Expressway is 29 km, 18.9 km of which is in Gurugram and the rest in Delhi.

The central authority is building the Dwarka expressway in five packages —first package of 5.3 kms from Shiv Murti to road under bridge (RuB), second package of 4.2 km from RuB to Haryana border, third package of 10.2 km from Haryana border to Basai road over bridge (RoB), fourth package of 8.7 km from Basai RoB to NH-8 – SPR intersection, and the fifth package of 5 km of Western Airport Connectivity from Dwarka Expressway through tunnel.

On November 9, NHAI had written to GMDA asking for early transfer saying that it had entered a contract on October 23 for the development of two packages (three and four) in Gurugram for which the authority has to hand over encumbrance free work front to the contractor in a time-bound manner.

An NHAI official, who is privy to the matter, said that cost awarded for section three is Rs 1,333 crore and for section four it is Rs 1047 crore.

The NHAI had also asked GMDA to allot plots to two establishments that fall on CPR alignment for clearing the right of way. Also, a large number of trees need to be removed from the acquired land for the expressway, said the official.

The highway authority also wanted work for high tension power lines to be completed at the earliest. The authority has also sought details of existing contract entered into by HSVP with the contractors for construction and maintenance of NPR/CPR. “It is requested that the issues mentioned above may be resolved at the earliest to avoid any delay, which could lead to potential liabilities in the execution of the work,” said the letter.

Source : HindustanTimes