NHAI ‘to get’ 30 acres to shift Gurugram’s Kherki Daula toll plaza to Panchgaon

Tribune News Service

Gurugram, December 3

Six years after a declaration by Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, the proposal to shift Kherki Daula toll plaza has finally seen some progress.

The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) is set to transfer around 30 acres to the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) this month.

PC Meena, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GMDA, said that the 30 acres acquired by the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) has already been handed over to GMDA for the proposed toll plaza construction.

Farmers yet to agree

• While the government claims issues related to land acquisition have largely been resolved, the Panchgaon farmers refuse to agree and have threatened not to let construction of the new toll plaza.
• They say that the state government needs to pay interest on compensation to land owners, construct an underpass and shift the toll plaza towards Bilaspur as the land along the highway has been acquired by HSIIDC.

“We will do our bit and hand over the land, which is free of any encumbrances, to NHAI in the coming days as these 30 acres have been transferred to GMDA. The shifting of the toll plaza and construction of a new toll plaza at Panchgaon will be carried out by NHAI,” claimed Meena.

The state government had in 2018 decided to allot around 50 acres at Panchgaon and HSIIDC was given the job to acquire land for the construction of a new toll plaza. The land acquisition got stuck due to Panchgaon farmers’ litigation.

They went to the Punjab and Haryana High Court as they did not want to sell their land. After a protracted legal battle which also included around 80 resident welfare associations (RWAs) of New Gurugram under aegis of United Association of New Gurugram, the Punjab and Haryana High Court asked the government to form a high-powered committee to resolve the issues.

While the government claims the issues have largely been resolved, the Panchgaon farmers refuse to agree and have threatened not to let construction of the new toll plaza. They say that the state government needs to pay interest on compensation to land owners, construct an underpass and shift the toll plaza towards Bilaspur as the land along the highway has been acquired by HSIIDC.

“The toll plaza needs to be completely removed. You cannot — in the wake of elections — make Gurugram city’s problem ours. The shifting will impact our day-to-day lives and we are not ready for it. Some of the legal battles with regard to land acquisition are still in court. We have asked the government to construct an underpass at Jamalpur for local residents. Unless it is constructed, we will continue to oppose the toll plaza,” the Panchgaon villagers said in a letter to the government.

Residents of villages, societies, RWAs of colonies, representatives of industrial associations and workers unions have been fighting for the removal of the plaza.

They allege that toll is being taken to foot the bill of KMP construction and bank loan recovery. The Delhi-Gurugram Expressway was constructed in 2007 by DS Construction Company. In the same year, toll collection began at Sarhaul border and Kherki Daula.

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