NHAI resolves drain issue, work to resume
Gurugram The stormwater drain falling in the alignment of the proposed underpass at Ambience Mall will be shifted by next month, said officials of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), adding it would pave the way for work on the project to resume. The contractor hired by the NHAI will shift the drain under the supervision of the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA).
Officials said six of the 10 lanes on each side of the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway will be closed for traffic after the drain is shifted. At present, four lanes to the extreme left of each side is closed for traffic, which will be blacktopped and opened once the work on shifting the drains is complete.
This will help in expediting work on the project, as the NHAI has also taken possession of the land on the Gurugram-Delhi side of the expressway for the project.
Saurabh Singhal, NHAI’s consultant, said, “After the drains are shifted, we will concentrate on making the underpass box. The middle row of the expressway will be blocked for this construction, but we’ll open the lanes on the side, which have been closed presently for the ramp.”
Officials said that they would ensure traffic is diverted in such a manner that it will have minimum impact on the traffic flow on the expressway.
The NHAI contractor plans to construct two drains and then shift the existing stormwater ones, so that there is no sewage issue. The GMDA, in November, issued an estimate of ₹10.12 lakh for shifting the stormwater drain, which had stalled the underpass work at Ambience Mall for more than a month before the construction ban was implemented. In October, the NHAI had asked GMDA to make estimates so that the stormwater lines could be shifted as no government agency was laying claim to the drains.
“The detailed estimate for shifting the existing master stormwater drains in the way of the proposed underpass with 1000mm double-barrel drain near the Ambience Mall underpass has been made,” read the GMDA letter, a copy of which is with HT.
NHAI officials said that their contractor will shift the stormwater drain under the supervision of GMDA officials. Ashok Sharma, project director, NHAI Gurugram, said, “The NHAI contractor will shift the drains under supervision of the GMDA.”
During a meeting between officials of the NHAI and GMDA in October, it was agreed that the stormwater lines, beneath the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, might have been laid by the Tourism Department in the 1990s.
Vijay Aima, vice-president, Ambience Mall, presented a copy of the letter to NHAI stating that “a deep nallah (well) existed at the location and lot of water used to flow into it during rainy season in 1992.”
It was decided in the 1990s that each individual party, including Haryana Tourism, would apply for change of land use and approval of their building plans they will have to keep the topographical conditions into consideration and make proper arrangements for the stormwater drainage and disposal. Accordingly, clearance was given by the executive engineer, Mewat water services division, Nuh, in 1997.
Raj Singh Gehlot, chairman, Ambience Group, said, “The drain pipes already exist under the NH-8 (Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway) to allow drainage and stormwater coming from the hills of Nathupur, Sikanderpur and the integrated colony of Ambience Island. The NHAI is duty-bound to relay the drainage pipes.”