Sonepat DC justifies toll plaza near Kurar village on NH-1, cites rule book

Our Correspondent

Advertisement

Sonepat, October 15

Bowing to the pressure of the Opposition against the plans of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to start a toll barrier on the National Highway-1 near Kurar village in the district, Deputy Commissioner, Sonepat, KM Pandurang today said the toll barrier was being started for widening the NH-1 from four to six lanes which happened in 2010 and not for the ongoing work of widening it from six to eight lanes.

In a press statement issued here today, the Deputy Commissioner said, “The toll barrier is being started on a temporary basis now after a relaxation of seven years post the widening of the NH-1 from the Delhi border to Panipat in 2010.”

He said a similar project of widening of the Panipat-Jalandhar NH-1 from four to six lanes was also completed in 2010 and a toll barrier was started in the same year. He justified starting of the toll plaza saying that as per the rules of the NHAI, a toll barrier is started on a particular National Highway whenever its widening from four to six lanes is completed.

He said the widening of the NH-1 from six to eight lanes from the Delhi border to Panipat would be completed by 2019 and only then the toll barrier could be handed over to the construction company.

Congress MLA Jai Tirath Dahiya was the first to oppose the move after news appeared in the media about starting of a new toll plaza near Murthal for widening the NH-1 from six to eight lanes and threatened to oppose it. The district unit of the INLD had also started an indefinite dharna near the Murthal flyover two days back.