Delay in land for compensatory plantation delays Akshardham-EPE highway project

In January 2019, Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation stone for the 31.3km-long corridor between Akshardham and Eastern peripheral Expressway (which includes the 15km-long stretch in Delhi)

The construction of a nearly 15km-long elevated corridor in the trans-Yamuna area, a part of national highway 709B between Akshardham (Delhi) and Saharanpur Bypass (Uttar Pradesh), is yet to start, despite the work having been awarded, as the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) is yet to provide National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) with 15 hectare of land for compensatory plantation.

A stretch of the Eastern Peripheral Expressway. The 14.7km-long elevated corridor will pass through some of the most densely populated areas in east and northeast Delhi, such as Geeta Colony, Shastri Park, Khajuri Khas, Karawal Nagar etc. (HT Archive)

NHAI has written to DDA to expedite the process. “The environment clearance for the project is stuck as DDA is yet to provide us land for compensatory plantation. From our end, the work is complete and we can start the construction within 15-20 days,” said a senior NHAI official aware of the development.

In January 2019, Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation stone for the 31.3km-long corridor between Akshardham and Eastern peripheral Expressway (which includes the 15km-long stretch in Delhi). The corridor is an extension of the NHAI’s ongoing national highway 709B project that is aimed at providing seamless travel between Delhi and Saharanpur.

The 14.7km-long elevated corridor will pass through some of the most densely populated areas in east and northeast Delhi, such as Geeta Colony, Shastri Park, Khajuri Khas, Karawal Nagar etc.

NHAI officials said that the land-owning agency had provided them a 15 hectare of land in Delhi a few months ago. “But it turned out that the land was already in use for compensatory plantation by another agency. So, we wrote to DDA again for an alternate land parcel,” said the official.

When contacted, DDA officials said, “There was an overlap due to some miscommunication. We are in the process of addressing the issue. The request will be processed soon.”

The official added, “We are finding it difficult to meet the demand for land for compensatory plantation and afforestation. Delhi is largely urbanised and most of the areas identified as recreational green under the Master Plan have already been used either as parks or for plantation.”

NHAI officials said that to carry out preparatory work for the project, they will have to make space for traffic diversions. “The corridor will be constructed on an extremely congested road. The piers of the elevated corridor will be constructed on the median so we will have to make space for traffic diversions. So, we need tree-cutting permission before we start any work on the ground,” said a senior NHAI official.

The ₹2,388-crore project in Delhi has been marred by delays. Months after the project was announced in 2019, the road transport and highways ministry asked NHAI to reassess the financial viability of the project and explore options to bring down the cost. The direction came as the ministry was focusing on prioritising highway projects after evaluating them financially.

After the evaluation, the total cost of the project was revised to ₹2,388 crore from the earlier estimate of ₹2,820, said an official. In February this year, the work was awarded.

“Now that everything is ready, we hope we get the permission at the earliest,” said the NHAI official.