9 months on, Faridabad villagers refuse to budge on expressway access demand

Bijendra Ahlawat

Mohna (Faridabad), July 16

Inclement weather and assurances have failed to move hundreds of villagers agitating here to seek an access to the upcoming greenfield expressway that will connect Faridabad with the international airport at Jewar in UP.

With the protesters (mainly farmers) holding the dharna since October 15 last year, it is perhaps the longest agitation of its kind in the region.

“The agitation has completed nine months, and the authorities’ failure to accept the demand connected with the mass welfare has made us resolve to continue the struggle indefinitely,” says Ishwar Singh Numberdar, a resident of Mohna village and one of the main organisers. He is one of the 30 persons sitting in a tent and braving rains near the village on Monday.

He said though several leaders and officials have approached with assurances, no solution has come so far. Their only demand is to provide an access (entry and exit point) to the expressway at Mohna village so that residents of around 40 villages are spared from having a long detour to cross the expressway. The agitation has halted the work on the two-kilometre-long passage near the village thus impacting the overall pace of the project. The deadline for the Rs 1,660-crore project, which was launched in July 2022, is 2025.

“The access will not only offer better connectivity to thousands of residents, but will also help in generating more jobs in the area that is faced with unemployment due to acquisition of the farmland,” says Om Prakash Pandit of Hirapur village.

“Though assurances have been given by the local MP, MLA and officials of the district administration, nothing has happened on the ground so far,” says Uday Ram of Jalhaka village. He said residents would not allow the work on the passage near Mohna village till the issue is resolved.

“No decision has been taken so far regarding the entry or exit point at Mohna village,” said a senior NHAI official. Union Minister of State for Cooperation and local MP Krishan Pal Gurjar, who met Union Minister of Transport Nitin Gadkari in February regarding the issue, said he was committed to getting the matter resolved soon. Prithla MLA Nayan Pal Rawat said that the issue was expected to be resolved in the next two weeks as the process of finalising the access point was on.

Commencing from Sector 65 here, the expressway culminates near Jewar in UP. It will pass from Chandawali, Sotai, Bahbalpur, Phaphunda, Panehra Khurd, Narhawali, Mahmadpur, Hirapur, Mohna and Chhainsa villages in the district, before crossing the Yamuna and the KGP Expressway.

Work halted at Mohana

• Residents of around 40 villages are worried over the long detour they will have to take to cross the upcoming greenfield expressway, and are demanding a direct access to it.
• The agitation has halted work on the 2-km passage near Mohana village. The deadline for the Rs 1,660-crore project is 2025.
• Union MoS and local MP Krishan Pal Gurjar, who met Union Minister of Transport Nitin Gadkari in February regarding the issue, said he was committed to getting the matter resolved soon.
• Prithla MLA Nayan Pal Rawat said the issue was expected to be resolved in the next two weeks as the process of finalising the access point was underway.