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NHAI softens stance on commuters bypassing toll plaza
Gurugram The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has asked the Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) to apply for permission to allow a link between the
Gurugram The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has asked the Haryana Shahari Vikas Pradhikaran (HSVP) to apply for permission to allow a link between the Southern Peripheral Road (SPR) and the Jaipur-Delhi Expressway. A meeting was held between HSVP and NHAI officials in Panchkula on Wednesday to find a solution to connect the SPR with the Jaipur-Delhi Expressway.
Until now, the NHAI has maintained that SPR and the Jaipur-Delhi Expressway should not be linked, as it allowed commuters to bypass the Kherki Daula toll plaza.
However, the NHAI softened its stand on Wednesday and asked the HSVP to file for permission.
Hari Singh Geela, deputy manager, NHAI, Jaipur, said, “We have asked the HSVP to apply for permission to facilitate SPR connectivity from us and the NHAI, Gurugram. After they apply, we will consider the number of commuters using this road and decide if it is in the interest of the common public. Our decision will be based on that.”
The five-kilometre SPR was completed by the HSVP in January this year and provides connectivity to commuters travelling to the Golf Course Road or Faridabad, bypassing the Kherki Daula toll plaza.
HSVP officials, after the meeting, are hopeful that a solution can be found amicably and it wouldn’t go to the court. Shweta Sharma, executive engineer, HSVP, said, “It was a good meeting and the NHAI officials have assured us that we will get official permission for the SPR connectivity. Hopefully, the matter will be resolved amicably. We have made the SPR on our land and no one should have an issue with it,” said Sharma.
NHAI officials said that they still maintain that the SPR allows vehicles to bypass the Kherki Daula toll plaza, but a decision that helps commuters will be taken. “After the NHAI’s Jaipur office gives permission for SPR connectivity, HSVP will also need to take clearance from NHAI in Gurugram as the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway’s concessionaire, Millennium City Expressway Private Ltd (MCEPL), had protested with the highway officials against the opening of the road in January.
MCEPL officials said that ministry of road transport and highways guidelines clearly mention that no alternative road should be opened near any toll plaza.
S Raghuraman, chief executive officer, MCEPL, said, “The SPR clearly violates the toll plaza rules. Many trucks use this road and don’t pass through the toll plaza. NHAI-Gurugram should not give permission to HSVP for connectivity of SPR with the expressway. If they do, we’ll take this matter to the court.”
Last month, the MCEPL had requested NHAI-Gurugram to set up a toll plaza on the SPR, a demand which was rejected by the NHAI. “No toll plaza can come up on the SPR as it doesn’t come under the NHAI,” a senior NHAI official said.
The concessionaire, MCEPL, said since January, ₹4.5 crore has been lost with the opening of the SPR. “We are losing ₹15 lakh every day due to the SPR connectivity. MCEPL has written to NHAI for the compensation, but until now, there is no response from their side,” said Raghuraman.
