E-Paper
Agencies dilly-dally on fund for underpass project
After getting a cold response from the Haryana government which didn't agree to bear more than 25% of the construction cost of underpasses at Hero Honda Chowk, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has come up with an alternate cost sharing model.
After getting a cold response from the Haryana government which didn't agree to bear more than 25% of the construction cost of underpasses at Hero Honda Chowk, the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has come up with an alternate cost sharing model.
NHAI had proposed to construct four underpasses and three footover bridges to facilitate pedestrian crossover between Hero Honda Crossing and Kherki Daula toll plaza.
Under the new model, NHAI has offered to bear only one-third of the cost while the rest will have to be borne by Haryana State Infrastructure and Industrial Development Corporation (HSIIDC) and Haryana Urban Development Corporation (Huda).
The project, however, may hit a roadblock again as the state government agencies have washed their hands off.
Though the modalities were discussed in a meeting between Huda, HSIIDC, NHAI and the road and transport ministry on April 6, the state bodies have not reverted till date.
Much to the chagrin of NHAI, neither Huda nor HSIIDC is willing to share the cost. Huda administrator Nitin Yadav told HT that the project cost is “too high” and they have has asked the highway authority to rework the model.
A ministry source said the project cost is close to Rs 300 crore and NHAI would fund one-third, which is around Rs 100 crore.
It is ironic that Huda, which collected more than Rs 5,702 crore as external development charge (EDC) from Gurgaon residents since 2001 and has more than Rs 2,700 crore in its unspent funds in 19 bank accounts, is finding an amount of Rs 100 crore “too high to bear”.
The civic agency was also pulled up by the Punjab and Haryana High Court recently for not being able to explain where it has spent the money collected in the form of EDC.
HSIIDC, which is a profit making company with an annual income of more than Rs 146 crore and is growing at a rate of 29.97% (as per its website), is shying away from the development project.
