NHAI to light up Sirhaul toll using diesel gensets

Street lights in the Sirhaul toll area will become functional five years after the plaza was closed in accordance with a 2014 Delhi High Court order. The National

Street lights in the Sirhaul toll area will become functional five years after the plaza was closed in accordance with a 2014 Delhi High Court order. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has directed the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway concessionaire to illuminate the area for commuters’ safety. However, the high mast lights are going to be run using seven diesel generators as concessionaire Millennium City Expressway Private Ltd (MCEPL) does not have an electricity connection here.

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“We have not applied for an electrical connection as the Sirhaul toll plaza was removed and now this area doesn’t come under our scope of work,” MCEPL chief executive officer S Raghuraman said.

It must be noted that the Supreme Court-appointed Environmental Pollution Control Authority (EPCA) ban on use of diesel generators in the national capital region (NCR) is still in force. However, MCEPL said there is a relaxation to use diesel generators for commuters’ safety. “We know about the ban, but diesel generators are allowed when it comes to the safety of commuters on road. The generator provision is temporary,” said Raghuraman.

However, NHAI officials said maintenance of the road and supporting infrastructure was well under the purview of the MCEPL. While NHAI (Gurugram) project director Ashok Sharma refused to comment on this issue, HT has learnt that the NHAI was penalizing the MCEPL ₹10,000 for their failure to discharge duty to run street lights at Sirhaul. “This matter is in the Delhi High court right now,” Raghuraman said.

NHAI officials said after a meeting with the MCEPL officials, they were assured that 11 high mast lights will be made operational within the coming week. “We spoke with MCEPL officials and they have agreed to start the street lights at Sirhaul toll plaza,” said a senior NHAI official on the condition of anonymity.

The highway officials have started checking all high-mast lights and carrying out necessary repairs. “The highways officials have asked us to replace the defunct bulbs. For the sake of road users we will replace them,” Raghuraman said.

The high-mast lights are not defunct, said an NHAI official, adding that they are switched on for a day or so for VIP movement. In October 2018, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Gurugram, the NHAI had made three high-mast lights operational using generators.

NHAI officials said each generator will be run for 10 hours is likely to consume 50 litres of diesel a day.

Road safety experts believe that it’s not overnight that NHAI has got the concessionaire to agree in starting the streetlights.

Sarika Panda Bhatt, programme coordinator with Haryana Vision Zero, said, “In November, additional deputy commissioner Imran Raza had directed the NHAI to immediately start the lights at Sirhaul or face action. So, the NHAI is under immense pressure to make the lights functional.”

Commuters said they face difficulty spotting jersey barriers without any lights. The sudden movement of pedestrians is also hard to spot.

Shivam Saini, a resident of Sector 14, said, “There are so many jersey barriers at Sirhaul. Without lights it becomes hard to see them.” In fact, around two years back, NHAI officials had agreed to float a tender to shift the street lights to the median. “That plan didn’t work out,” said a senior NHAI official on anonymity.

It must be noted that this is not the first time that the NHAI has had to use generators to illuminate its infrastructure. In 2017, when Rajiv Chowk and Signature Tower underpasses were opened, for the first seven months all lights in them were powered by generators. NHAI consultant Saurabh Singhal said, “Running the underpasses on gensets was a temporary provision. Within few months a proper electrical connection was applied for. Now, all underpasses on the highway have DHBVN connection.”