In Gurugram, 7 of 9 road projects stand delayed; one yet to start

Of the nine major road development projects currently under the purview of the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), at least seven have missed their

Of the nine major road development projects currently under the purview of the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), at least seven have missed their scheduled deadline and one is yet to commence, officials confirmed Tuesday.

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The main reason for the delay, officials in the GMDA’s infrastructure department said, was logistical, as projects call for shifting of power and sewer lines, and removal of trees.

The recent blanket ban on construction in Delhi-NCR, instated by the Supreme Court in November and December last year, also delayed the projects, GMDA chief engineer Jitender Mittal said. “We are trying to make up for lost time. While some of the work will be completed by March, the rest will be done by December this year,” Mittal said.

Only one project, involving road widening between Atul Katariya Chowk and Maharana Pratap Chowk, is on track and is set to get completed by February end.

The delayed projects include ongoing redevelopment of Atul Katariya Chowk, Huda City Centre and Mahavir Chowk, three proposed road widening projects in Udyog Vihar, and one road widening project between Rezang La Chowk and Delhi’s Bijwasan. Construction work for another major project—a proposal to widen and redesign the Southern Peripheral Road (SPR) between Vatika Chowk and Ghata village—is yet to commence.

The total cost of these projects comes close to ₹650.5 crore, of which almost half (i.e. ₹282 crore) is dedicated to the development of the Southern Peripheral Road.

“As of now, no builders have come forward expressing interest in the project (SPR),” Mittal said, explaining the reason for its delay. He declined further comment on the project.

A senior GMDA official in know of the matter clarified, “A total of 61 real estate developers, with commercial interests along the SPR, had agreed contribute to ₹122 crore for the project, while the balance ₹160 crore was to be taken from the GMDA’s external development charges (EDC) corpus. The developers had agreed to provide us with undertakings pledging their contribution to the project, but we have not received any at the moment. We will seek clarity from the developers and are treating the matter as urgent.”

The GMDA will be using EDC funds to build flyovers and underpasses along the SPR, but it is not mandated to spend EDC funds on upgrading existing roads. Thus, it has roped in beneficiaries to fund a part of the project.

While GMDA officials did not specify any timeline for this project, they confirmed that pre-construction activities, such as identifying utilities for shifting, and preparing a list of trees for removal and translation, are underway.

“Baring the SPR, multiple issues have delayed the other projects. We had to stop construction work due to the Centre’s orders (construction ban), but mostly the issues are logistical. In all of the projects we are working on, we have had to shift power lines, divert sewers and keep telecom cables intact. This takes time,” Mittal said.

MOST DELAYED PROJECT

The Atul Katarya Chowk revamp, being carried out at a cost of ₹72 crore, has been delayed by one year—the most for any of the ongoing projects. Kick started in June 2018 with an original deadline for December 2019, the work is now expected to be completed by December 2020, according to a GMDA report. The report identifies shifting of power lines, transplantation of trees, and diversion of sewer lines as reason for the delay.

YEAR-END DEADLINES

The six-lane road from Umang Bharadwaj Chowk to NPR has also been delayed by six months, as has the Mahavir Chowk remodeling project. Now, both are set to get finished by December 31, 2020, as per the GMDA report. As for the Huda City Centre revamp, which was to be completed by May this year, “will be completed only by September 2020,” Mittal confirmed.

WORK YET TO START

A clutch of road widening projects—three in Udyog Vihar and one at Rezang La Chowk—are also in the pipeline, with work yet to commence on any of them. “Work could not be started as utilities hadn’t been shifted,” the GMDA”s report observes, stating that the projects will be completed by February, March and May 2020.

“One of these projects is the remodeling of Anath Road in Udyog Vihar, which is being done under CSR initiative by the Raahgiri Foundation. We are still working out the specifics of the deal with private parties involved,” Mittal said.

RRTS HINDRANCE

The GMDA has also entered into an agreement with the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC) to hand over a 5km stretch between Hanuman Chowk and Atul Katarya Chowk for construction of the proposed Delhi-Alwar RRTS corridor.

“This road runs parallel to the upcoming RRTS corridor and the GMDA is working on making the road encumbrance-free so that we can begin construction work sometime this year,” said an NCRTC spokesperson.

The rail corridor will use the median verge of the road. As a result, all water and sewer pipelines, underground electricity feeders and overhead wires and other utilities of government and non-government agencies will need to be shifted before June, GMDA officials said.

“This stretch of road is part of a larger 7.5km stretch from Mahavir Chowk to Dundahera, which was to be developed by the MCG originally, but now the GMDA has agreed to complete the task after the RRTS system is built,” Mittal said.