Delayed on-site inspection hits 5.5-km Chilla elevated road project

The work on 5.5-km-long Chilla elevated road above Shahdara drain is facing delay as an estimated 4,000 trees that fall along its alignment are yet to be shifted.

The work on 5.5-km-long Chilla elevated road above Shahdara drain is facing delay as an estimated 4,000 trees that fall along its alignment are yet to be shifted. The Noida authority is currently carrying out an on-site survey which would determine the exact number of trees and species—a must for getting the forest department’s approval for the project.

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“A joint team of Noida authority and forest department officials is conducting a site inspection to count the number of trees to be shifted. They are likely to submit the report shortly. Once the inspection will be completed we will process the permission for shifting trees,” GB Nagar divisional forest officer (DFO) PK Shrivastav said.

“We recently got an application about permission to shift these trees. We cannot be sure of the species before the joint inspection is finished. We can tell how many trees can be relocated or felled only after the survey report,” Shrivastava said.

The elevated road, proposed to be built above Shahdara drain, would begin from Delhi’s Chilla village and end in Noida’s Sector 94 towards Mahamaya flyover where Noida Expressway begins. It will provide seamless connectivity between Noida and Delhi.

The Noida authority had started mobilising work force to initiate work on this project in January 2019, after the Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure (Planning and Engineering) Centre (UTTIPEC) gave a conditional approval. The condition was that the alignment of a Delhi road and Delhi-Meerut rapid rail route should be finalised.

The alignment of the rapid rail transit system project from Delhi to Meerut and the route of another road from Ghazipur to DND Road passing through Chilla were finalized in September 2019. By November end, the authority started work, but its pace has slowed down because the Noida authority and the Gautam Budh Nagar district forest department have not shifted trees that on the route of this project.

Though this elevated road was supposed to be completed in three year’s time, it may now take four years. However, Noida authority officials assure there will be no delay.

“The work will not get delayed as the work on Delhi side is in full swing. The work on other sites will be started shortly,” Noida authority general manager Rajeev Tyagi said.

The Shahdara drain is owned by the Delhi government, but it passes through Noida. Sectors 15A, 14A, 14, 15, 16, 16A and 38A are located along this drain, which carries Delhi’s sewage to the Yamuna. As of now, motorists face congestion on the 2km stretch that connects East Delhi’s Mayur Vihar-1 to Noida Expressway, passing through sectors 14A, 15A and 16A.