DELHI-JAIPUR E-WAY: LAND PRICES RISE 40%
Land prices on the proposed Delhi-Jaipur expressway have risen by 40 per cent along the anticipated alignment for the project. The Delhi-Jaipur expressway is slated to become operational by 2020 and the alignment is expected to cross Manesar, Rewari, Neemrana and Ajeetgarh, among other places. The National Highways Authority of India is yet to finalise the alignment, say officials. Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari had in the past announced new projects in some states and land prices in those areas went up in anticipation of better infrastructure. MEGHA MANCHANDA writes
Land prices on the proposed Delhi-Jaipur expressway have risen by 40 per cent, with Manesar and Rewari in Haryana and Neemrana and Ajeetgarh in Rajasthan becoming the latest hotspots for realtors.
The price of land on the anticipated alignment for the project have gone up 30-40 per cent, said Vijay Chaudhary, managing director, Ram Rattan Group, which has developed country homes, agricultural lands and information technology parks in Delhi/NCR and neighbouring states.
The Delhi-Jaipur expressway is slated to become operational by 2020 and the alignment is expected to cross Manesar, Rewari, Neemrana and Ajeetgarh, among other places. National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), which does acquisition for highway contracts, is yet to finalise the alignment, say its officials and those at the road transport and highways ministry.
Among the main additions to project cost come from spike in land rates.
Road transport and highways minister Nitin Gadkari had in the past announced new projects in some states and land prices in those areas went up, in anticipation of better infrastructure and connectivity. Incidentally, the projects never took off.
“We are very cautious while announcing any new project in any state. We are doing so only after at least the feasibility report is complete,” an official in the ministry told Business Standard on condition of anonymity.
The complete alignment is considered ready if the entire land for the project has been identified, another official in the ministry said. Subsequently, the compensation to land owners is decided and disbursed.
The infrastructure sector has, in the past, suffered delays due to land acquisition. But, with recent changes in law providing for higher compensation to owners, NHAI feels this won’t pose a challenge for this project.
Consultancy services for the feasibility study of the Delhi–Jaipur expressway was awarded to AECOM Asia Company, in consortium with AECOM India, Consulting Engineers Group Ltd and G-Eng Advisory Services Pvt Ltd. It will be executed on a buildoperate-transfer basis.
The proposed expressway, expected to reduce the distance between Delhi and Jaipur by 40 km, will branch out from the Delhi- Gurugram expressway near the Kherki Daula toll plaza in Gurugram and pass through seven districts. The total length will be 195 km, with a main carriageway of six lanes (three on each side). Currently, the distance is around 235 km.