Working on land transfer for 3.2km road revamp project, says GMDA

The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) held a meeting on Friday to resolve the issues pertaining to acquisition of land required for upgradation of 3.2 km road between Hero Honda Chowk and Umang Bhardwaj Chowk. Acquiring around 5-acre land belonging to a religious trust, shifting of a power substation and removal of encroachments are the priority, and all steps will be taken to get the land transferred to National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), so that the road upgradation project can be taken up at the earliest, GMDA officials aware of the matter said on Friday.

The meeting followed the recent move by the highways authority to put the upgradation project on hold due to obstacles delay in transfer of land required for the project construction. The highways authority also said that the proposed construction of Metro pillars and plans to build an elevated road on this stretch was likely to delay this project further.

When asked about the matter, a senior NHAI official requesting anonymity said that he was not aware of any development regarding this issue.

Arun Dhankhar, chief engineer, GMDA, said that they had called a meeting of all the departments concerned to take stock of the situation and find out what steps can be taken to resolve the obstacles in obtaining the land and transferring it to NHAI. “A meeting of the revenue department, GMDA and other agencies was held and it was discussed in detail as to what steps are needed to be taken. We have identified that an electricity substation needs to be shifted and this is going to happen under the smart city plan. We are also working with the Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) to ensure alternative land or compensation is paid on priority to owners whose land is acquired,” he said.

Dhankhar also said that a CNG station on this road has already been given alternative land and it will be shifted soon. “This road stretch is a key project as heavy traffic is witnessed on it. We are working to ensure that this project is soon taken up by the highway authority by ensuring early transfer of land,” he said.

The stretch between Hero Honda Chowk and Umang Bhardwaj Chowk is one of the busiest stretches in the city with traffic from national highway, Sohna road, Dwarka expressway and Old Gurugram converging into it. Frequent traffic jams during peak hours have led to frequent demands from city residents that this road should be expanded or a flyover be constructed.