Post-HC Order, Trouble Mounts For Dwarka Expressway

The construction of two major arterial roads in Gurgaon, namely the Southern Peripheral Road (SPR) and the Northern Peripheral Road (NPR) also known as Dwarka Expressway, has yet again hit a roadblock.

In its recent order, the Punjab and Haryana high court ruled in favour of allotting land to the oustees in lieu of the land acquired for the expressway. The work on the expressway has already been delayed for several years largely over the issue of rehabilitation of the oustees.

If the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) challenges the HC order, the Dwarka Expressway would get delayed further. The urban body is trying hard to find an alternative settlement and compensation policy that would hold good for the future projects.

The problem started in 2008 when the oustees, whose lands had been acquired for the SPR, filed a petition in the high court seeking compensation on a par with the compensation of the oustees of NPR, particularly the New Palam Vihar. The HUDA had allotted alternative plots to the 16 oustees from Ranbir Ki Dhani, which was coming in the alignment of the SPR. The problem before HUDA is that if it does not appeal against the HC order, it would pose a challenge for all its future projects. This would lead to an unprecedented delay in the process of land acquisition which would affect various important infrastructure projects in the Millennium City.

Dwarka Expressway, once completed, would become the third link road between Delhi and Gurgaon.