Dwarka expressway connecting Delhi and Gurugram will be ready in 18 months

The Dwarka Expressway, which runs from Mahipalpur in Delhi to Kherki Daula in Gurugram, will help decongest the Delhi-gurgaon Expressway and bring relief to the lakhs of homebuyers who have invested in housing projects along the expressway

The 29-km Dwarka Expressway will be ready within the next 18 months, Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) CEO V Umashankar said on Friday.

“All obstacles have been removed,” he said at an event.

The Dwarka Expressway, which runs from Mahipalpur in Delhi to Kherki Daula in Gurugram, will help decongest the Delhi-gurgaon Expressway and bring relief to the lakhs of homebuyers who have invested in housing projects along the expressway.

The project was stuck due to problems in land acquisition at New Palam Vihar and Kherki Daula. The Haryana urban development authority (Huda) had issued notices to 50 homeowners in New Palam Vihar Sector 110 and Kherki Daula in Sector 84 whose properties were on the land required for the new highway. They were told to vacate their houses within 24 hours or face demolition. Huda started demolishing houses on Saturday, the same day when the Punjab and Haryana high court stayed the demolition drive. However, by the time the court issued the stay order, 25 homes had already been demolished.



On Tuesday, the high court ordered Huda to allot alternative plots to even those evictees who do not have sale deeds, effectively plot owners with the general and special power (GPA/ SPA) of attorney.

Observing “the urgency of utilising the land for a project of national importance”, the HC ordered Huda to allot alternative plots by June 5.

Huda administrator Chander Shekar Khare said that a list those eligible for alternative plots was being prepared.

“We will send the list to headquarters (in Panchkula) tomorrow. Once the allotment process is complete, the land will be handed over to the NHAI (National Highways Authority of India) for the construction of Dwarka Expressway,” Khare said on Thursday.

Though Khare did not provide a date for allotment of plots, he claimed that Huda was “trying its best”.

The evictees, however, are not happy.

They said the demolition drive was illegal as they have not been allotted plots as per the terms of an out-of-court settlement they had reached with the Huda in 2015.

“It’s been three years since we were promised plots in Sector 110-A. We were also supposed to get a six-month window to build homes on these plots before being asked to vacate our homes,” said 28-year-old Sushobhan, an IT professional who lives in New Palam Vihar.

The residents also alleged that the demolition drive started on May 26, several hours before the 24-hour ultimatum served to them by Huda was to expire.

“A police contingent was also present to make sure the drive was carried out without interference from the residents,” said Puran Chand, 58, who has been living in New Palam Vihar for over a decade.

Another resident, 40-year-old Vishnu Dutt Sharma, pointed out that the notices were issued in accordance with Section 18 of the Huda Act, 1977 (power to evict persons from premises of authority), which contradicted the promises made to residents in the 2015 agreement.

“Now, most of us are living in rented homes. There is no clarity,” Sharma said.

Source : https://www.hindustantimes.com/gurugram/dwarka-expressway-connecting-delhi-and-gurugram-will-be-ready-in-18-months/story-UMRsqbFqMnopgDixu8twdK.html

India's Eastern Peripheral Expressway boasts of many firsts, to be ready within 500 days

NEW DELHI/KUNDLI: The Eastern Peripheral Expressway -- which is expected to provide major relief to Delhi from vehicular pollution -- is set to be completed in a record time of 500 days as against a sanctioned target of 910 days, NHAI officials said.

The 135-km Expressway will boast of many firsts including a closed tolling system in which toll will be collected only on the distance travelled and not on the entire length, National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) Chief General Engineer ..

There will also be provision for electronic collection of toll to ensure disruption-free movement of traffic.

"Apart from that, we have also installed weigh-in motion sensors on all entry points which will ensure that over-loaded vehicles are not allowed to enter the Expressway," he said.

Normally, weigh-in motion sensors are installed -- if at all they are -- at toll plazas when it is not possible to send the vehicles back. But here, the sensors are installed at all entry points with two gates -- one leading to the Expressway and the other redirecting the vehicle if it is over-loaded.

"We have also made provision for parking of overloaded trucks where they can unload some of the cargo to satisfy the weight criteria and then move to the Expressway. This is the first expe ..

To check speeding, cameras have been put up every two kilometres.

"Over-speeding vehicles will be issued the challan at the toll plaza and the challan amount would be added to the total toll amount. This will be a great deterrent to over-speeding," Singla said.

While some work is still to be completed on the expressway which connects Palwal with Kundli bypassing Delhi, the Expressway is expected to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 29.

All NHAI officers that the IANS spoke to expressed confidence in completing the pending work by then.

NHAI Member (Public Private Partnership) Neeraj Verma said the Expressway will reduce vehicular pollution in Delhi-NCR by around 27 to 28 per cent according to a study.

"Also, we have made it a green highway with solar panels installed at various locations which will provide power to illuminate the underpasses below the Expressway," he said.

Also, there are eight solar power plants along the Expressway having a capacity of 4,000 kilowatt. These plants will supply power to the grid and the amenities on the Expressway will take power from the same grid.

"So in effect we will produce the power that we consume and will have zero operating cost as far as power is concerned," Verma said.

He added that 33 per cent of the earth work on the highway was done using fly ash from coal power plants thereby compounding its contribution to reducing pollution.

Singla added that while Road Transport and Highway Minister Nitin Gadkari had ordered him and other officers to complete the work in 400 days as against the sanctioned target of 910 days, the team was able to finish the work in a record time of around 500 days despite several technical and other hurdles.

Gadkari's close aide Vaibhav Dange said this was achieved because of the personal interest Gadkari took in the project which also led to fast clearances.

"Every bill of the contractors was paid within 24 hours. Extra manpower was deployed and work was done day and night to complete this project in the record time," he said.

"And it is not just about completing this in lesser number of days. It's about the change in the attitude where now every stakeholder believes that it can be done," he added.

The 135-km six-lane access-controlled Expressway is built at a cost of around Rs 11,000 crore and will help decongest the national capital.

Source : https://bit.ly/2Fbd9Pu

Underpass at Gurgaon's Signature Tower to declog expressway

National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has begun the first of the three-phase construction of the underpass at the junction, that connects the highway with Huda City Centre.

GURUGRAM: Construction on the two-way, four-lane underpass on the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway at Signature Tower junction, began earlier this month. It will connect the new and old Gurgaon and is expected to decongest the busy junction.

National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has begun the first of the three-phase construction of the underpass at the junction, that connects the highway with Huda City Centre. This phase involves widening the road. The tunnel will be dug in the second phase, and the construction of the underpass will be the final stage.

On the Delhi-Jaipur side, the expressway will be widened between Gymkhana Club and the service roads near Iffco Chowk and DLF Star Mall. On the Jaipur-Delhi stretch, the widening will take place between Maharana Pratap Chowk up to the service lanes at the 32nd Milestone hotel and Iffco Chowk. The carriageways need to be widened as the four-lane underpass will require extra road on the sides for the traffic to exit to and from the highway. Only those vehicles which want to cross the expressway between old and new Gurgaon will use the underpass.

It will start from near Huda City Centre and end near Maharana Pratap Chowk on old Delhi-Gurgaon road. The tunnel will bifurcate between HeroMotoCorp Traffic Safety Park and Management Development Institute.

The project’s highlight includes a track for non-motorised transport, such as bicycles, and for pedestrians. “It is going to cost Rs 200 crore. This is the first of three junctions — Rajiv Chowk, Iffco Chowk and Signature Towers — where underpasses have been sanctioned,” said Ashok Sharma, project director, NHAI.

Source: https://goo.gl/OpYYN2