The long-standing tussle between National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation over constructing an elevated metro track trough NH-24 has finally come to an end. Following NHAI’s demand to return patches of land along the busy highway that connects Delhi with western Uttar Pradesh, the DMRC has now agreed to demolish five pillars it had built for the Mukundpur to Shiv Vihar corridor.
NHAI’s project is to build a Delhi-Meerut Expressway, which would include six and eight lanes of the connecting NH-24. On the other hand, DMRC had already started work on its 58-km Mukundpur-Shiv Vihar line. Later, NHAI asked for the land along the highway to be returned, which led to differences between the two agencies.
However, now the DMRC has agreed to give the right of way (RoW) to the NHAI for which now it will have to demolish five pillars built for a crossover on NH-24. “Two pillars at one location and three others across the existing NH-24 will have to be broken for the expressway project. These are near the Mayur Vihar Phase II petrol pump and Ghazipur flyover. However, the authority has given us permission to build three pillars at different locations on the dividing area between the proposed Delhi-Meerut expressway and the NH-24,” said a DMRC official.
While the corporation has devised an alternate plan to build a bridge over the 90-metre wide road for metro movement, it also said that the change will lead to further delay. “We have decided to bridge the gap now with steel girders. But the NHAI also will have to swiftly go ahead with its project so that we can implement the new plan,” said the official.
The current deadline for completion of the Mukundpur-Shiv Vihar corridor is set for December 2016 and will connect West, South and East Delhi.
The line will have a total of 38 stations out of which 26 shall be elevated and 12 will underground. Progress of civil works up to May 2015 is 68.65 per cent.
