The Central Government plans to take over the much-delayed Western Peripheral Expressway from the Haryana Government. Besides helping in decongesting Delhi’s traffic, it will also help in curtailing the high levels of pollution.
“If Haryana is unable to complete the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (Western Peripheral Expressway) in time, the Central Government will own the project in asset and liability, as this ring road is important for Delhi,” said Nitin Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport and Highways.
“We had asked the Haryana Government last month to expedite negotiations with the developer and submit a report to the Supreme Court. We are still to hear from them,” he said.
The Delhi Government was also supposed to pay over Rs621 crore to the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) as its contribution for construction of the Western Peripheral Expressway.
Gadkari said that lG Najeeb Jung has conveyed to the Centre that Delhi cannot provide funds for the Expressway. Speaking at the foundation stone laying of a transmission line in Tughlakabad, Gadkari said that the work on the Eastern Peripheral Expressway will soon start.
“There is a lot of traffic in Delhi, we have recognised the Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE) is an important project, the tender for building the same has been floated and in the next 15 days will be able to finalise it, in two months time will start work on it,” he said.
EPE envisages providing signal-free connectivity between Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gautam Budh Nagar and Palwal while the WPE connects Kundli to Palwal via Manesar in Haryana. The estimated cost of both the projects is Rs8,500 crore, the Minister said.