DMRC not game for route change

Delhi Metro rules out change in route plan for Iffco Chowk-Airport link; Old Gurgaon denizens angry.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has ruled out any change in the route plan of the proposed high-speed Metro line connecting Iffco Chowk in Gurgaon and IGI Airport. The DMRC has also no plans to add new stations on the line.

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The DMRC will soon submit the revised detailed project report (DPR) to the Haryana government, said a senior DMRC official.

"We are in the last stages of finalising the DPR and hopefully submitting it to the state government in a week or two," he added.

It's a serious blow to Old Gurgaon residents who have been demanding a change in the proposed alignment.

"We will launch an agitation if the government fail to address our demand," said Ashok Taneja, a resident of old Gurgaon.

On February 3 this year, the DMRC had submitted the project report of the 12-km long high-speed Metro route with three metro stations in between IGI Airport and Iffco Chowk to the state government.

Under pressure from Old Gurgaon residents, the district officials raised some reservations to the project, saying the proposed link would serve no purpose to a large number of people living in the old city, or in the west side of the expressway.

The district officials suggested some changes: Divert the proposed route from Palam Vihar towards Rajiv Chowk along Atul Kataria and Sheetla Mata roads. Old Gurgaon residents had given representations to Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda twice.

The DMRC said the Haryana government should plan other routes to cater to the needs of Old Gurgaon residents.