Kherki Daula toll likely to be shifted to Panchgaon

Land issue at the proposed site in Sehrawan yet to be resolved

The district administration and officials of the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) are looking at Panchgaon as an alternative location for shifting the Kherki Daula toll plaza, officials privy to the matter said.

The toll plaza was proposed to be shifted to Sehrawan, which is 11 kilometres from the toll plaza, but the land transfer to NHAI in Sehrawan has not materialised so far. Panchgaon, located near Kundli-ManesarPalwal (KMP) Expressway, is nearly 13 kilometres from the existing toll at Kherki Daula.

The toll shifting plan has been pending for two years. The traffic jams at the toll plaza is a big concern for expressway users and Manesar-based industry owners, according to whom foreign delegations have given them unfavourable feedback.

Pankaj Gupta, an industrialist, said, “I have learnt that the NHAI is looking for land at Panchgaon now. I believe the toll should be shifted beyond the district. The present location of the toll is a big problem for us. We have often got embarrassing feedback from foreign delegates on long snarls. This toll should be shifted at the earliest.”

The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), on the request of the NHAI, asked for 40 acres in Panchgaon from the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC).

At least three senior officials confirmed the development on

the condition of anonymity. Ashok Sharma, the project director of the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, however, said, “There has been no communication with my office in this regard.”

In September 2017, the district administration decided to transfer a 65 acre-plot in Sehrawan to the NHAI, but the matter ended up at the National Green Tribunal (NGT) and is

pending since. Under pressure from commuters and industrialists, the district administration has made a fresh move to get land in Panchgaon.

Mahinder Singh, the president of Panchgaon Sangharsh Samiti, said, “We have also learnt about it from a reliable source and are trying to confirm it. There are already two tolls at Panchgaon on the KMP Expressway and this will be the

third toll in a one-kilometre radius. We are likely to meet HSIIDC officials soon.”

Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway came into operation in February 2008 with two tolls — one at Sarhaul near Ambience Mall and the other at Kherki Daula.

In 2012, the city residents led a massive protest against the Sirhaul toll and demanded its removal.