Land for shifting Kherki Daula toll handed over to NHAI, says Khattar

GURGAON: The proposal to shift the Kherki Daula toll plaza to Sehrawan got a fillip on Tuesday when Haryana chief minister Lal Khattar said 65 acres has been handed over to the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) at the new site.

The shifting of the toll plaza has been stuck over land transfer for the last three months.

“NHAI has been asked to take possession of the 65 acres and initiate the process to remove the toll plaza from Kherki Daula,” said Khattar.

The NHAI will have to complete the shifting process in three months, which means the toll will have to be removed by March 2018 from Kherki Daula.

Officially known as the 42-km toll, Kherki Daula is a big choke point between Manesar and Gurgaon.

Sehrawan will be officially known as Toll 53 (kms), the distance from the point of origin of the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway at Rao Tula Marg in New Delhi. Sehrawan is about 11 kms from Kherki Daula.

The industry owners of Manesar and local residents have been long demanding shifting of the toll for hassle-free commuting.

Sunil Singh Pawar, legal advisor, IMT Manesar Industry Welfare Association, said, “Land handover was easy for the government but actual problem is with the Millennium City Expressway Private Limited (MCEPL) that will still put a hurdle on grounds of revenue loss calculation. I do not think shifting would be possible in the next six months.”

The Haryana government purchased panchayat land in Manesar and Panchgaon and the process took nearly three months. .

Ashok Sharma, project director, NHAI, Gurgaon, said, “We received information about the CM’s announcement of land hand-over. We have already floated tenders for the design of the toll plaza at Sehrawan. We will update the NHAI headquarters tomorrow and proceed accordingly.”

“MCEPL will be communicated shortly. It depends on the concessionaire to come forward with their proposal to shift the plaza,” said Sharma.

S Raguraman, CEO, MCEPL, said, “We will comment only after official confirmation about the land transfer.”