Hindon elevated road yet to get green nod

Green tribunal had set Feb 4 deadline for the ministry of environment to decide on environmental clearance but the decision is pending

The 10.3-kilometre Hindon elevated road project has been completed but it is yet to be made operational due to pending environment clearance (EC).

The GDA completed the load bearing and safety tests for the 10.3km Hindon elevated road in January. The road will cut travel time from Ghaziabad to Delhi.(Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

Even after the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had set a one-month deadline for the process, officials said that there are yet to receive word from the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEF&CC), the competent authority to issue an EC for the project.

During a hearing on an execution application filed by Ghaziabad resident Sushil Raghav, the NGT on January 4 had directed MoEF&CC to hold a meeting and take an appropriate decision in accordance with the law, for granting an EC for the project within a month.

“We held a meeting with officials of the ministry and are expecting a decision soon in this regard,” Ritu Maheshwari, vice-chairperson, Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA), said.

Officials of the GDA had met officials of MoEF&CC in January and apprised them about the status of the project and the directions of the NGT.

“It may be noted that failure to take such decision will be met with coercive measures to seek compliance of our directions,” the NGT had stated in its January 4 order.

The 10.3km project is complete and will connect Raj Nagar Extension to UP-Gate, the Delhi-Ghaziabad border near East Delhi. The road, constructed on 228 pillars alongside the river Hindon and Hindon canal, will provide commuters with a signal-free ride to Delhi’s doorsteps in 10-15 minutes.

Ghaziabad officials had hoped to open the project in January but the issue of pending EC is blocking the inauguration of the road. The project is constructed at a cost of ₹1,146 crore, of which ₹700 crore has been borrowed from the NCR Planning Board.

On Raghav’s petition, the NGT, in its September 2016 order, had held that the project “in question is covered under entry 8(b) of the Schedule to Regulation 2006 and it is obligatory for GDA and the state to obtain Environmental Clearance from SEIAA/MoEF&CC.”

Later, the GDA applied for EC. “The EC should be expedited at the earliest as it is a major project and will benefit thousands of commuters. GDA had already applied for EC in 2016 and a decision should be taken at the earliest, as per norms,” Raghav said.