New Delhi: Cabinet secretary P.K. Sinha will be holding a high-level meeting on November 17 with the chief secretaries of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh to take stock of the ongoing Rs 1,658 crore Dasna-Meerut six-lane connector under the Delhi-Meerut Expressway project. Despite Prime Minister Narendra Modi laying the foundation stone of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway in December last year, the construction work of the project has not started so far. It is learnt that the Prime Minister expressed his annoyance over the delay of the project during a review meeting a few days ago. The Prime Minister has reportedly made it clear to the NHAI officials that they should not have laid the foundation stone in a hurry if the project was not ready for takeoff.
A source said that the Cabinet secretary has called a meeting of all stakeholders, including chief secretaries of Delhi and UP, to take stock of the ongoing project. “Some land related issues, which have been reported, need to be sorted out on a priority so that the work is not hampered.” Reports suggest that the NHAI has not taken any prior approval from the National Green Tribunal for the construction of a bridge over Yamuna for the expressway project.
The ambitious Delhi-Meerut Expressway project, aimed at decongesting traffic in the national capital, proposes construction of four stretches including Nizamuddin bridge to UP border, UP border to Dasna, and Dasna to Hapur. Once fully operational, the 96-km Expressway will provide a safe and smooth transit for commuters between Delhi and Meerut.
The Delhi portion is being constructed by the concessionaire, Welspun Delhi-Meerut Expressway Pvt. Ltd. Meanwhile, in Hapur, road construction machineries have been deployed by the concessionaire, Apco Chetak Expressway Pvt. Ltd. The environment ministry has given clearance to NHAI’s proposal to construct a greenfield alignment of Delhi-Meerut Expressway from Dasna to Meerut and the six-lane connector. The proposed Dasna-Meerut alignment has been approved, though subject to certain conditions. The Prime Minister had laid the foundation stone at Sector-62 in Noida on December 31, 2015.
The total length of the entire expressway will be 105.45 km and the construction has been divided into three stages.
