Haryana, Rajasthan clear alignment of Delhi-Jaipur expressway

   The proposed six-lane expressway from Delhi to Jaipur has cleared a major hurdle. The new alignment of the expressway, which will have a limited number of entries and exits, has been approved by Haryana and Rajasthan. The two states want National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and the highways ministry to consult them while proposing real estate development along the expressway. 

    Delhi government has already given an in-principle approval to the access-controlled expressway which is expected to slash travel time between the two cities to less than three hours. The length of the new alignment will be around 230-240 km. The portion of the expressway falling in Delhi will be elevated since availability of land is a problem in the national capital. 

Haryana town and country planning (DTCP) secretary S S Dhillon recently wrote to NHAI saying that the state would provide all support to the Centre for execution of the project, including land acquisition matters, said a senior Haryana government official. Rough estimates by NHAI suggest the project could cost around Rs 12,000 crore. Those pockets which will be developed for residential and commercial projects along the expressway may be given access to the highway. This will cross subsidize the project for developers," said a ministry source. 

The new expressway has become a necessity because of the increasing congestion on NH-8. The traffic chaos will only get worse due to the widening of the stretch between Delhi and Jaipur. At present, traffic jams are regularly reported from this stretch since the road width has reduced. "In future, this new-alignment expressway would be a part of the continuous expressway connectivity between Delhi and Mumbai," said a government source. 

Haryana government officials told TOI that they have agreed to NHAI's proposal of making the link pass through Gurgaon, Manesar, Rewari and Kothputli. However, the approval comes with a rider. One of the conditions put forward by the state is that the alignment should not affect any housing or commercial projects in the state for which DTCP has already issued licences. Moreover, the state wants NHAI to elevate the portion of the expressway which cross state roads. Haryana has also asked the highway authority to help the government improvesome of the state roads along the new expressway and to provide links to them. 

The new alignment is likely to be announced next week. In his letter to NHAI, Rajasthan's chief secretary has reportedly said that the state government wants the road authority to provide a link from the expressway to the industrial township of Bhiwadi. 

The state has also sought a short link from Jaipur city to the expressway. As per the proposal, the expressway will join the Jaipur bypass, which falls on the outskirts of the city. 

(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Haryana-Rajasthan-clear-alignment-of-Delhi-Jaipur-expressway/articleshow/14813783.cms)

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