8 years on, flyover widening project yet to see light of day

Tribune News Service

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Faridabad, August 26

The wait for the work on widening (four-laning) the railway overbridge (ROB), connecting Ballabhgarh and Sohna highway in Faridabad, has failed to come to end even after eight years. The project has been stuck due to a dispute regarding land acquisition. It is now expected to be launched after the Assembly elections, according to sources. The project cost is reported to be Rs 69 crore.

The Haryana State Roads and Bridge Development Corporation (HSRBDC) had been allotted the project after a formal announcement by the then CM Manohar Lal Khattar in 2016. However, the body is still awaiting official approval regarding the registration of a patch of land of around 360 yards, to begin the work that has remained halted for several years, according to sources in the local administration.

The state government had announced to widen the two- laned flyover to four lanes as it had proven to be a major bottleneck for the movement of traffic. Traffic snarls and accidents had become common on the ROB due confined space for the movement of vehicles, especially during peak hours, said SK Sharma, coordinator of the Road Safety Organisation (RSO), an NGO engaged in traffic management.

While the state government had released Rs 16 crore as compensation for the land acquired for the project, it wass revealed that the registration of the land, which was held in patches by different individuals, failed to be completed due to technical hitches.

As the land acquired had been both residential and industrial, no progress was made in the wake of various factors. These included the rate at which the compensation was to be given and the hurdles erupting during the identification of the claimants of the compensation as many of the claimants had resorted to legal course of action, delaying the process regarding the acquisition of the land and further notification, it was learnt. The size of the land area acquired and for which the compensation was given was reported to be around an acre.

With the department concerned submitting the detailed report to the state government, the tender of the project is likely to be released soon after the culmination of the election process of the state Assembly, the sources said. The dispute regarding the rate of compensation to be given to the owners of the land has been one of the major factors behind the delay.

Rahul Singh, Executive Engineer, Haryana State Roads and Bridges Development Corporation, said the tender of the work was expected to be released after the election process as the DPR had been submitted for technical approval. All hurdles were cleared now, it was added.