‘Don’t take away our homes for NPR’

Residents of New Palam Vihar on Monday met Huda administrator Praveen Kumar amid fears of a change in the present alignment of the Northern Peripheral Road (NPR). They also submitted a memorandum.

Residents of New Palam Vihar on Monday met Huda administrator Praveen Kumar amid fears of a change in the present alignment of the Northern Peripheral Road (NPR). They also submitted a memorandum.

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According to locals, if the present construction plans are changed, Blocks E, T and F would be worst-affected leading to displacement of hundreds of settled houses.

"An NPR diversion would displace more than 250 houses in E Block and nearly 100 houses each in Block F and T. We will take to the streets if this happens," said Rajender Pandit, a resident of Block E who settled here in the early 1990s. "Although some officials had talked about a possible re-alignment in the media, the administrator denied any such change," said Azad Kataria, one of the 50 residents who met the top official.

Under the present alignment, 250 houses are to be displaced by the NPR. The matter is already pending in the Punjab and Haryana High Court since 2008, said area councillor Rishi Raj Rana.

Rana had led a delegation of residents to be affected under the existing alignment to meet the administrator last week. The court has stayed construction on a disputed 4-km stretch and asked the Huda to submit a plan to compensate the affected.