Shifting of utilities for Gurugram Metro to take 7 months: Report

To upgrade the corridor, NHAI and state departments must relocate multiple utilities, including an electricity substation, a CNG station, and sewage and water pipelines, GMDA officials said.

The phased shifting of a long list of utilities – obstacles in widening of the road between Hero Honda Chowk and Umang Bhardwaj Chowk – is expected to take seven months, after which the 3km stretch will be expanded into a six-lane road with space reserved for a future metro line, according to a report prepared by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and other agencies.

Geotechnical survey for the Gurugram Metro underway. (Parveen Kumar/HT)

To upgrade the corridor, NHAI and state departments must relocate multiple utilities, including an electricity substation, a CNG station, and sewage and water pipelines, GMDA officials said. The shifting is being carried out in phases to allow the parallel expansion of the road and the construction of the metro line.

NHAI informed that work on relocating the electricity substation began on October 15 and is expected to finish by June next year. Gurugram Metro Rail Limited (GMRL) has said that around 150m of the planned metro viaduct falls within the substation’s footprint and has asked NHAI to expedite the relocation to prevent delays.

The stretch also carries 15 feeders of 11kV lines belonging to Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN), all of which must be shifted. In addition, a 2.3km high-tension cable of the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam (HVPN) passes along the road, of which 1.3km has already been moved, according to the report.

Another roadblock in widening the stretch is a plot where a shop owner has challenged the land acquisition in the Punjab and Haryana high court. The next hearing is on January 27, when NHAI plans to inform the court that the widening is essential, as the Gurugram Metro will run along the corridor and the removal of the structure is necessary.

Officials also said that the Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran has allotted an alternative site for the existing CNG station. Final approvals are under way, after which the new station will be made operational and the old one dismantled.

A senior GMDA official said the road upgrade will cost ₹200 crore, funded by the authority, while NHAI will execute the widening. About ₹100 crore will go toward utility shifting; the remaining amount will be used to build three-lane roads on both sides, service lanes, two small flyovers at Khandsa village and Sector 37, and a larger flyover at Umang Bhardwaj Chowk.