Environmental clearance awaited for extension of Western Bypass
Parveen Arora
Tribune News Service
Karnal, June 3
The project on the extension of Western Bypass from the Kaithal road flyover to Ghoghripur village, to connect Kaithal road with Hansi road, is in a limbo for the past several months as the environmental clearance is still awaited for this ambtious project. The extension is being done as part of the second phase of the project. The first phase had been constructed from Kaithal road flyover to National Highway-44 near Uchana village along the Western Yamuna canal. In the first phase, the Western Bypass was opened to commuters around two years ago and the Chief Minister had announced extension of it to Madhuban in three phases.
The Western Bypass is part of the outer ring road, which was planned to reduce traffic congestion in the city. A similar eastern bypass project, part of ring road, is also in the pipeline from the Bastara toll plaza to Oasis, connecting augmentation canal, Meerut road, Kunjpura road, and Indri road. The project will be constructed by the National Highways Authority of India, drawing of which has been approved by the government.
The proposed stretch, the work of which will start in the second phase, is around 5.5km, the estimated cost of which is around Rs 33.61 crore. The administrative approval was granted by the government on July 2019.
As per sources, for the second phase, around 458 well-grown trees and around 4,000 plants, green cover in around 5.3 hectare, would be axed, for which the (PWD B&R) had to deposit around Rs 3 crore to the Ministry of Environment and Forest.
As per the plan, after the construction in the second phase, heavy traffic would not enter the city.
“We will deposit around Rs 3 crore soon after the clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forest. The proposal is expected to be taken up in the next meeting this month. We are hopeful that the proposal will be given the nod. Soon after the nod, tenders will be floated,” said Yogesh Mehra, Superintending Engineer (SE), PWD (B&R).
“If all goes well from the Forest Department, then we will float tenders by end of June and allot the work by the end of July. We are expecting the work will commence from August or September and will be completed in around two years,” the SE said.
