Gurgaon: MCG, Huda jointly clear encroachments on Sohna Road

The drive was carried in preparation for the construction of a proposed five-kilometre flyover on Sohna Road, for which Union Minister Nitin Gadkari had laid the foundation stone on August 14.

In an extensive demolition drive to free a green belt from encroachments, officials of the Municipal Corporation of Gurgaon (MCG) and Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) on Saturday jointly undertook a drive on Sohna Road.

The drive lasted for seven to eight hours as locals tried to block the enforcement squad from carrying out its duty. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

The drive lasted for seven to eight hours as locals tried to block the enforcement squad from carrying out its duty. The drive also caused a massive traffic jam in the first half of the day, following which traffic police were roped in to streamline movement.

The drive was carried in preparation for the construction of a proposed five-kilometre flyover on Sohna Road, for which Union Minister Nitin Gadkari had laid the foundation stone on August 14.

Sohna Road was transferred to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) two years ago and is better known as NH-248 that goes from Rajiv Chowk to Alwar in Rajasthan.

MCG commissioner V Umashankar said, “The traffic volume on Sohna Road has increased manifold in the recent few years. We have to create adequate space for local traffic, long distance commuters, pedestrians and cyclists. Our objective is to create a service road for local traffic and clean 30 metres of the green belt, which is encroached, before NHAI begins construction.”

“We have adopted a zero-tolerance policy (in dealing with encroachments) with an aim to improve the traffic system of the city and are closing illegal or unnecessary access points and cuts across the city. We have to fix this problem on Sohna Road also,” Umashankar said.

Officials of the MCG carried out the drive from Rajiv Chowk to Subhash Chowk while the Huda officials carried out the drive from Subhash Chowk to Vatika Chowk.

“The locals put up a strong resistance while our men were on the job but the presence of police thwarted their attempts,” said Vivek Kalia, estate officer (Huda), adding that the green belt was finally cleared.

Similarly, the MCG enforcement team was also met with strong resistance from shop owners on Sohna Road between Rajiv Chowk and Subhash Chowk.

Rajiv Yadav, subdivisional officer (SDO) MCG, said, “Thanks to the police force, we successfully carried out the demolition drive.”

For the NHAI, five-kilometre Sohna Road (Rajiv Chowk to Vatika Chowk) is the main bottleneck point on the Gurgaon-Alwar highway via Sohna.

There is a presence of commercial establishments such as hotels, restaurants, pubs, bars and also offices of leading companies are located in the area, besides residential areas such as Vatika City, Uniworld Garden, Nirvana Country, Parsvnath Green Ville, Malibu Towne and others.