Greater Noida: Agency delays work on loop interchange to link two expressways, gets Yeida notice
In the absence of the loop, motorists from Noida, Greater Noida and Delhi face inconvenience in reaching EPE as they have to travel through several congested villages such as Kasna and Ghangola
A cloverleaf interchange loop, which has been proposed to seamlessly connect Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE) and Yamuna Expressway, has hit a fresh hurdle, of budget escalation, which is further delaying the work, officials of the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (Yeida) said on Tuesday.
The agency engaged in the construction of the cloverleaf, being built at a cost of ₹143 crore, has demanded an additional ₹15 crore to complete the work, Yeida officials said. Yeida responded to the demand by slapping the agency with a notice, warning it that action may be taken against it if work is not started at the site without further delay, said officials.
The loop is crucial to provide direct connectivity from the upcoming airport in Jewar and Delhi-NCR via the Eastern Peripheral Expressway. In the absence of the loop, motorists from Noida, Greater Noida and Delhi face inconvenience in reaching EPE as they have to travel through several congested villages such as Kasna and Ghangola.
The National Highways Authority of Indian (NHAI), which built the 135km Eastern Peripheral Expressway, is funding the project and Yeida will construct the entry and exit to connect the two important expressways. The EPE passes above the 165km Yamuna Expressway, near the Noida International University and Galgotias University campuses
“We have issued a notice to the agency directing them either to start the work without delay or face action. If the agency will not start the work, we will have to replace the agency in consultation with the NHAI. We hope the matter will be resolved soon,” said Arun Vir Singh, chief executive officer, Yeida.
The Yeida has given the agency 15 days to reply to the notice or face action.
Uttar Pradesh chief secretary DS Mishra on December 15, 2023, laid the foundation stone of the cloverleaf interchange loop that will seamlessly connect Yamuna Expressway with the Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPE).
“However even after the foundation laying event, the agency has not started work at the site, thereby delaying the project. If it continues to delay the work, then we will have to take action because we cannot afford anymore delays,” said Singh.
The work was supposed to have started in 2018-19, but the construction got disrupted farmers refused to give up their land for the project as they wanted additional compensation. Yeida officials said the issue has been resolved and they have started distribution of the compensation money to farmers, who have agreed to give their land for the project.
“Yeida, in 2000, acquired the land at a rate of ₹1,300 per square metre (sqm). But in 2008, the government bought land for Eastern Peripheral Expressway and other projects at a rate of ₹3,500 per sqm. We, therefore, demanded that we be given more compensation. We had filed a writ in the Allahabad high court demanding compensation at the rate of ₹3,500 per sqm,” said Mukesh Kumar, a farmer from Afzalpur.
Yeida started handing out compensations at a rate of ₹1,300 per sqm with the condition that the Allahabad high court’s ruling be accepted by both parties.The Yeida has distributed the compensation to all farmers to claim the land required for the loop work.
As the construction agency was already been hired in 2019, the project was to commence effortlessly after the foundation stone laying event. “The interchange will come up near the Budh International racing circuit on 57 hectares of land,” said CEO Singh.
Yeida has fixed a deadline of 18 months for the project from the day the work starts on the ground. But now the project cost has been escalated to ₹143 crore, said Yeida.
However, the construction agency has asked Yeida to pay an additional ₹15 crore citing that cost of construction material has gone up, thereby further escalating the project cost.
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