Gurugram: NHAI to build Pachgaon toll plaza for ₹18 crore in 3 months

Highway officials said the new plaza will collect toll automatically through the multi-lane free flow system in which digital tags are scanned automatically

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) plans to construct the new Pachgaon toll plaza with 12 lanes at an estimated cost of ₹18 crore within the next three months, officials said on Monday. NHAI officials said they expect to get possession of the land within the next 10 days after which construction will start immediately. A toll plaza building, traffic control centre and other amenities will be built at the site.

The Kherki Daula toll plaza on Monday. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

The Pachgaon toll plaza is being constructed in the revenue estate of Kukdola village after the Union transport ministry approved the shifting of the Kherki Daula toll plaza last month. It is 13km from Kherki Daula on the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway and around 1km from the KMP expressway, officials said.

“The Pachgaon toll plaza will have 12 lanes and it will have a traffic control centre and building for operations and maintenance staff. The estimated cost is ₹18 crore. It will be built in the next three to four months,” said a senior NHAI official.

Highway officials said the new plaza will collect toll automatically through the multi-lane free flow system in which digital tags are scanned automatically and there will be no need for vehicles to halt at the toll plaza.

The shifting of the Kherki Daula toll plaza will also mean that a 55km stretch on the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway will become toll free.

According to highway officials, a joint visit of the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) and NHAI officials is scheduled for July 9 to transfer physical possession of more than 28 acres of land to the highway authority for the plaza. “The demarcation of the land parcel and the official handing over of the land is expected in the next 10 to 15 days. The project work will be carried out by the existing contractor of the Delhi-Jaipur Expressway by expanding the scope of work,” said the NHAI official cited above.

A GMDA official, when asked about the matter, said they have already initiated steps to transfer the land. “The shifting of the Kherki Daula toll plaza to Pachgaon is a priority. We are working with NHAI on this project,” he said.

According to a feasibility survey conducted by NHAI, the authority is likely to see an increase in revenue collection from the current ₹49 lakh daily at the Kheri Daula toll plaza to ₹53 lakh daily at the proposed new toll plaza.

Presently, 44,000 vehicles pay toll at the Kherki Daula toll plaza. The highway authority estimates that 40,000 vehicles will pay toll at the proposed Pachgaon toll plaza but a steep increase in the light commercial vehicle (LCV) segment will boost revenue from toll.

The transfer of the Kherki Daula toll plaza was announced by Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari in 2016. Initially, the plan was to shift the toll plaza to Sehrawan near Manesar but the proposal was dropped after opposition from environmentalists. Later, the state government identified more than 30 acres of land at Pachgaon and managed to acquire it after a long legal battle. GMDA took possession of the land in 2023 and asked the highway authority to take possession of it, which got delayed due to a lack of approval for the new toll plaza from the Union transport ministry.