NEW DELHI: In a significant boost to the plan of decongesting Delhi roads and early completion of Delhi-Panipat and Delhi-Alwar Regional Rapid Transit Systems (RRTS) projects at reduced costs, National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has in principle agreed for construction of these two projects along NH-1 and NH-8.
Durga Shanker Mishra, Secertary (Housing & Urban Affairs) chaired a meeting with NHAI chairman Deepak Kumar in which he explained that a ground survey for aligning the two RRTS projects has been already done by NCRTC and building them along National Highways significantly reduces construction time by over three years besides bringing down costs substantially.
Mishra explained that the proposed alignment along the NHs is to ensure that the two RRTS projects serve densely populated areas which have come up as satellite towns in NCR. He stressed on the need to enable quick execution of these RRTS projects, the first of its kind initiative in the country, in the context of growing urbanization.
Chairman of NHAI conveyed in-principle agreement and said NHAI and NCRTC would jointly prepare an Action Plan after examining the issues related to future expansion plans and possible congestion points and the options to address them.
As per the preliminary estimates of NCRTC based on a different alignment made earlier, the 111 km Delhi-Sonipat-Panipat RRTS project would cost about Rs 16,500 crore and the 180 km Delhi-Rewari-Alwar line to cost about Rs 37,000 crore.
Deepak Kumar also conveyed in-principle agreement about NHAI taking up execution of Urban Extension Road-2 project aimed at decongesting Delhi and a feasibility report in this regard would be prepared in a month’s time for further discussions.