HUDA, DTCP to share underpass cost with MCG

GURGAON: The assertive MCG, which put its foot down on not bearing the entire cost of constructing three underpasses in the city seems to have had its way. After the municipal corporation raised the issue, the state government has asked the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) and department of town and country planning (DTCP) to bear 25% of the project cost from the external development charges (EDC) fund.Three underpasses are to be built at IFFCO Chowk, Signature Towers and Rajiv Chowk.
The total cost of the project is estimated at Rs 760 crore and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had already agreed to pay 25% of it. However, the MCG said that it was in no position to bear the remaining Rs 570 crore all by itself and had recently written to the state government to direct HUDA, DTCP and Haryana State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corp (HSIIDC) to share the cost.
In a meeting held last week the principal secretary of town and country planning, P Raghavendra Rao, directed HUDA and DTCP to bear 25% of the cost. Rao also observed that the cost of these underpasses is on the higher side and directed MCG commissioner Vikas Gupta to re-examine the proposals and submit them within 15 days.
In its letter to the state government a couple of weeks ago, the new chief engineer had said that since HUDA, HSIIDC and private builder area residents will also benefit from these underpasses after they are constructed, these departments should also bear the construction cost. The letter pointed out that HUDA and other departments have been collecting external development charges from the property owners in their respective areas and this amount should be spent on the construction and maintenance of these three underpasses.
MCG officials said the detailed project report is ready and construction will start once the cost sharing is finalized. Expressing satisfaction with the move, an MCG official said, "We have a corpus of around Rs 1,000 crore now, but we do not want to spend Rs 570 crore on three underpasses."
He said that the construction work could being the moment the cost sharing is finalized.