Decks cleared for laying road along elevated railway track in Rohtak

Ravinder Saini

Rohtak, February 27

Ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, the Municipal Corporation (MC) has expedited the work for the construction of a 15-ft-wide road along the nation’s first elevated railway track in Rohtak city.

Consent given by most owners

A survey committee of district officers led by the SDM had identified 77 commercial properties to be used for executing the road project. Owners of 61 among them have already given their consent to provide their land to get compensation. — An MC official

Tender allotted

• The authorities have allotted the tender to lay the road at an estimated cost of around Rs 22 crore
• The road will be 4.3 km long and 5.5 m wide
• The work to remove the old railway track is underway
• The work on this project was initiated after the country’s first elevated railway track became operational in 2021
• The 4.8-km-long track was laid at a cost of Rs 350 crore

Sources claim the authorities have managed to get consent of 80 per cent of the owners of commercial properties to acquire their land and give them compensation. They said frequent meetings were also being held with owners of residential properties that will be used for the project.

The sources said the authorities had also allotted the tender to lay the road at an estimated cost of around Rs 22 crore and the construction work would be initiated before the model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha elections comes into force, said the sources.

The work on this road project was initiated after the country’s first elevated railway track became operational in 2021. The 4.8-km-long railway track was laid at a cost of Rs 350 crore. It has done away with four level crossings in the city and also reduced traffic jams.

“A survey committee of district officers led by the SDM had identified 77 commercial properties to be used for executing the road project. Owners of 61 among them have already given their consent to provide the land in lieu of compensation. All others too have agreed but some technical reasons are coming in their way. These are being resolved,” claims an MC official.

He maintained the government had given them two options of compensation. “The first option is for land owners who want only cash. They would be able to get compensation of Rs 1 lakh per sq yard with a solatium of 50 per cent besides the assessed compensation for the structure of their land that is to be obtained by the government from the road project,” he said.

“The second option is for those landowners who want to purchase shops at Vivekanand Complex at Power House adjacent to Pt Neki Ram Sharma College, but this option is available for those whose land measuring at least 25 sq yard will be taken by the government for the project,” he added.

The official said besides commercial properties, a total of 81 residential properties needed for the project had also been identified by the survey committee. A majority of the owners had already given their consent to give their properties but the compensation rates and other conditions in this respect were being finalised. The process is likely to be completed soon, he added.

Pradeep Dahiya, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, said the road would be 4.3 km long and 5.5 m wide and it would provide seamless connectivity for Rohtak residents. The tender has been allotted and the construction work of the road would be started soon while the work to remove the old railway track is already underway, he added.

“The road, starting from Chinyot Colony to Sector-6, will benefit thousands of residents of adjoining localities like Gandhi Camp, Jhang Colony, Mansarovar Colony, Subhash Nagar, Kishanpura, Model Town, Laxmi Nagar, Kabir Colony, Vishal Nagar, Sector-5 and Sector-6,” the Commissioner said.

Dahiya informed that the process had also been started to take possession of those properties which had been transferred by the owners to the Municipal Corporation for the project after getting compensation.

Former Minister Manish Grover said the road would give a new direction to the development of the city. He said owners of many commercial properties had already been allotted shops in the Vivekanand Complex.