A day after commissioning of Kundli-Manesar-Palwal section of the Western Peripheral Expressway, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) on Wednesday urged the police chiefs of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to ensure protection which can expedite the works pertaining to Eastern Peripheral.
NHAI official said following obstructions from vested interests in Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar, Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh and Sonepat in Haryana, construction work in these sistricts was obstructed and could not commence, even though land had formally been acquired and contractors appointed from amongst the best companies of the country.
While KMP passes through Palwal, Gurgaon, Mewat, Jhajjar and Sonepat districts, the eastern peripheral expressway will connect Kundli, Ghaziabad, Gautam Budh Nagar and Palwal and decongest Delhi-NCR. Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday alongwith Haryana Chief Minister Manohar lal Khattar commissioned the much awaited KM.
The direction has also come following directives of Supreme Court which has fixed the deadline for completion of Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE) by July 2018. “In order to expedite the construction work and to apprise the Court of the difficulties, NHAI had moved the Supreme Court with an interlocutory application seeking police protection from unwarranted obstruction from miscreants and vested interests,” said the official.
The Supreme Court in a order dated March 31, 2016 directed the Director Generals of Police of States of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to ensure all requisite protection to NHAI officials and contractors, etc. to carry out their duty to construct the EPE.
NHAI has asked the state administration to necessarily provide security to NHAI officials and contractors to remove possible obstruction in construction. NHAI has also provided a list of specific points where the obstruction has been most perceptible. “The construction work requires huge mobilization of resources undertaken by contractors for all the sic packages into which the project is divided,” added the official.