Landowners to launch indefinite hunger strike in Thiruvananthapuram
On Monday, the representatives of the action council formed by the land owners met the regional officer, NHAI, to discuss the delay in the disbursal of compensation for the land acquired for the Outer Ring Road.
Around 314 hectares of land spread across 24 villages are being acquired to facilitate the project. 3D notifications for 11 villages have been issued already and the notifications for the rest of the villages are yet to come out.
'It has been three years and the government should return our title deeds or immediately give us the compensation. Both the state and the centre have been lying and cheating us for many years now and we have decided to launch an indefinite hunger strike from August 1,' said Chandramohan Nair, convenor of the action council.
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Indian Express
2 days ago
- Indian Express
Soon, a new Delhi-Gurgaon link could axe travel time by 30 minutes
Soon, those commuting between Delhi and Gurgaon may be able to skip the daily traffic snarls on NH-48 and MG Road. A new link, starting at either Gyarah Murti or Talkatora Stadium, is under discussion, said officials. Currently, it takes a commuter over an hour to go from the Capital to Gurgaon or vice versa via the usual routes. With this proposed link, commuters can cover the 30-km journey faster as travel time will be cut to 25-30 minutes, said officials. The project is part of two proposals to decongest the Capital — especially Lutyens' area and Central Delhi. The second proposal, a key project under discussion, officials said, is an elevated corridor or tunnel connecting the termination point of the Delhi-Meerut Expressway to the proposed elevated corridor from AIIMS to the Mahipalpur Bypass. The two proposals were taken up at a high-level meeting chaired by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari with Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and senior officials in June, where the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) was directed to come up with a plan to comprehensively address congestion in these two areas. The central government had earlier proposed a 20-km-long elevated corridor from AIIMS to the Mahipalpur Bypass, further extending into the Gurgaon-Faridabad Road. This, too, is expected to act as a parallel route to the NH-48 to decongest the Mehrauli-Gurgaon and Ring Road stretches. 'The current plan involves an elevated corridor from AIIMS to Mahipalpur… The Minister expressed concerns that this alone will not fully resolve traffic congestion in the New Delhi Municipal Council area and Central Delhi,' said officials present at the meeting. Currently, the Delhi-Meerut Expressway and Delhi-Dehradun Expressway terminate near Sarai Kale Khan on the Ring Road. Soon, the DND-Sohna (Jewar) link of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is also set to open. With these three key expressways converging in the area, it is expected that the traffic volume will increase significantly. As a result, additional traffic is likely to spill over into Lutyens' Delhi and Central Delhi. To address the issue, Gadkari directed the NHAI to explore the feasibility of the two projects (Delhi-Meerut Expressway to AIIMS-Mahipalpur corridor and Gyarah Murti or Talkatora to Gurgaon). 'The Minister has directed that these corridors be incorporated into the bids for the elevated corridor from AIIMS to Mahipalpur Bypass,' the minutes of the meeting stated. The AIIMS-Mahipalpur Bypass corridor project is estimated to cost Rs 5,000 crore. It will start from AIIMS and connect to Nelson Mandela Marg in Vasant Kunj via Ring Road. At Nelson Mandela Marg, the Centre is planning to construct a 5-km-long tunnel, which will connect to the IGI Airport and Dwarka Expressway. 'This corridor will be merged via a tunnel, and another corridor will be constructed towards Gurgaon and Faridabad Road,' said a senior NHAI official. 'The elevated corridor from AIIMS to Nelson Mandela Marg, further connecting to Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road and Gurgaon-Faridabad Road, will act as a parallel corridor between Delhi and Gurgaon,' the official said. Bids have been invited for preparing the Detailed Project Report (DPR), they added. Urban decongestion policy in the works The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is also in the process of formulating an urban decongestion policy aimed at supporting the redevelopment of state roads, officials said. According to officials, under the policy, central funding will be provided for major infrastructure projects aimed at easing congestion, improving inter-city connectivity — particularly at city borders — and reducing travel time. A senior official said the policy was also discussed in the meeting. '… The proposal would be examined upon finalisation of these policies,' stated the minutes. The meeting also addressed several other key issues, including traffic bottlenecks at Delhi's border entry points due to MCD toll plazas, and the status of ongoing and future projects aimed at easing congestion across the Delhi-NCR. Officials also said CM Gupta requested Rs 1,500 crore from the Central Road Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) for the development of road infrastructure in the city. Further, discussions were held on large-scale infrastructure projects worth over Rs 63,000 crore that have been completed, said officials. Balance projects worth Rs 34,589 crore are ongoing and would be completed this year, said officials, adding that Rs 23,850 crore worth of projects have been proposed to decongest the city. These projects are expected to significantly decongest the Capital, enhance connectivity between outer areas, New Delhi, and the NCR.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
To speed up NH projects, road transport min to soon start ranking states ‘ease of land acquisition'
File photo NEW DELHI: The road transport ministry will soon start ranking states on parameters of 'ease of land acquisition' as delay in getting the required land remains the biggest roadblock for national highway and expressway projects. This is aimed at fixing delays during the pre-construction and the project execution stages. Ranking of states will also help the Centre in prioritising projects in those states that take less time to make land available for construction. Sources said the parameters are being worked out by the ministry. One of best possible parameters is — time taken for making around 90% land available from the date of approval of an NH project. This means states taking the least number of days for completing the land acquisition process will get a better ranking. The ministry's move gains importance considering that in the past couple of years, highway-owning agencies, including NHAI and NHIDCL, have de-scoped works in around 20% projects to give completion certificates due to want of land. There have also been instances of NHAI terminating contracts after awarding them for non-availability of land. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo 'The details of the past 5-6 years can be a reference point to rank states. However, considering that there has been a trend of the Centre announcing and approving more NH projects in poll-bound states, it remains to be seen how strictly such a norm will be followed. This must be tried with all sincerity,' said an official. Since land is a state subject, the Centre is almost fully dependent on state govts for getting the required land parcels, officials said. Earlier, PM Narendra Modi had directed the cabinet secretary to prepare a training capsule on land acquisition in collaboration with the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), where civil servants undergo extensive training. He had said this would help sensitise civil services recruits about the process. As the competent authority for land acquisition in districts are deputy commissioners or collectors, training them about the process during their time at the institute will be of great help.
The Hindu
2 days ago
- The Hindu
Dispute erupts over Kollam-Theni NH widening plan
Fisheries Minister Saji Cherian has demanded an urgent review of the proposed alignment for the widening of the Kollam-Theni National Highway (NH) 183. In a statement issued here on Thursday, Mr. Cherian said that it would have been possible to prepare an effective plan without causing the loss of around 3,000 houses, shops, places of worship, and other structures along both sides of the 16-kilometre stretch from Kollakadavu to Aanjilichuvadu, and further up to Pravinkoodu on MC Road. He said the new highway was planned to be 24 metres wide, twice the width of the existing road. 'The new alignment should be designed in a way that does not cause inconvenience to the public,' the Minister said. A detailed complaint had already been submitted to the National Highways Authority of India, he added. Meanwhile, Kodikkunnil Suresh, MP, has criticised Mr. Cherian's stance against the 'widening of the Kollam-Theni National Highway 183 into a four-lane road.' In a statement issued on Friday, Mr. Suresh said that it was due to his intervention that a decision was made to widen the existing road, which requires minimal land acquisition. 'This decision has the full support of both the Central and State governments. The statements made by Minister Saji Cherian are intended solely to create confusion among the public,' Mr. Suresh said. The Mavelikara MP said the decision to widen the road was taken after conducting various studies. 'Widening the road is the most suitable option for the national highway development. Accordingly, the alignment was approved, the 3A Gazette Notification for land acquisition was published, and the project cost is currently under consideration by the Finance Committee,' he said. Mr. Suresh said that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the State government held a favourable stance on the Kollam-Theni National Highway development. Mr. Cherian has taken a different position, possibly due to vested interests, he alleged.
