Narendra Modi government sets three-year deadline for completion of Expressway projects

The Centre has set a deadline of three years to complete the Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressway, which aim to decongest Delhi roads. The Centre's decision has come after a delegation of all seven Delhi MPs met Minister for Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari on Wednesday where officials of PWD and NHAI were also present.

The delegation also demanded an elevated corridor between Delhi and Meerut, which is later to be extended to Haridwar, so that the volume of traffic on this stretch could be minimised.

"There is dire need to decongest Delhi's Ring roads from heavy vehicles entering from Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. In the meeting, Gadkari has set a deadline of three years for the completion of Eastern Peripheral Expresway and Western Peripheral Expressway," BJP national spokesperson and New Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi said.

The two expressways — each about 135 km long — were planned in 2006 following a Supreme Court order to form a ring road outside Delhi for channelling non-Delhi bound traffic bypassing the national capital.
Eastern Peripheral Expressway envisages to provide signal-free connectivity between Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gautam Budh Nagar (Greater Noida) and Palwal while the Western Expressway connects Kundli to Palwal via Manesar in Haryana.

"Although Centre has given three-year time for the completion of this project, contractor, who complete work in 2 or two and half years, will be given incentive by the centre. We want this project to be completed as soon as possible so that Delhi's roads could be decongested," Lekhi said.

She added that they also demanded that electric and telephone wires, gas piplines be laid underground while contructing expressways.