Gurgaon: NHAI rules out additional lanes at Kherki Toll
However, a senior NHAI official said the proposal isn’t being considered.
The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has said that it will not acquire any land for carving out additional lanes for the benefit of commuters at the Kherki Daula toll plaza, as the process of shifting the toll point to Sehrawan near Panchgaon is already under way.
In a meeting between officials of the NHAI and the state industries department held more than a week ago, Sudhir Rajpal, principal secretary, industry, had proposed that the road authority acquire land from private owners to make four additional lanes at Kherki Daula in compliance with a directive from the Delhi High Court. Rajpal had mooted a similar proposal to the NHAI in June as well. It was said that the four additional lanes would provide Manesar commuters a smooth passage to Gurgaon.
However, with the move to shift the toll already in process, the NHAI said there is no need to acquire any land at Kherki Daula.
“I had proposed four additional lanes in a bid to ease the movement of traffic at the Kherki toll. However, the NHAI has to take a call on it,” Rajpal said.
However, a senior NHAI official said the proposal isn’t being considered.
“Since the process of shifting the Kherki toll plaza is already under way, the NHAI has deferred the acquisition of land from individual owners. Rather, we wish that the Haryana government would officially hand over the land at Sehrawan at the earliest for the NHAI to set up the new toll plaza,” Ashok Sharma, project director, NHAI, Gurgaon, said.
Three years ago, the NHAI had initiated the process to acquire land at Kherki Daula before the landowners moved a petition in the Delhi High Court. However, the court advised both parties to go for an out-of-court settlement and resolve the issue by way of a lease agreement.
In May, the NHAI opened three lanes at Kherki to facilitate the movement of traffic from Manesar to Gurgaon.
However, industry owners at Manesar call it a piecemeal move and urged a permanent solution to perennial traffic problem at the toll.
‘We want a permanent solution to the perennial traffic problem,” Manmohan Gaind, president, Manesar Industry Welfare Association (MIWA), said.
According to officials, around 1.1 lakh vehicles cross the Kherki toll everyday, fetching an average revenue of around of ₹40 lakh per day to the toll’s keeperss.
