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Delay Looms Large Over 620 Km Varanasi-Kolkata Expressway As NHAI Finds West Bengal’s Land Acquisition Policy A Tough Nut To Crack

By
Amit Mishra
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The expressway is expected to be opened by FY 2026-27.

However, the land acquisition hurdles in West Bengal may dent the prospect of opening up the 22,500 crore expressway in time.

Inordinate delay in land acquisition by the West Bengal government has derailed the tender process for the construction of Varanasi-Kolkata expressway in the state.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) which is implementing this six-lane project has already invited tenders for 10 packages in UP and Bihar under Hybrid Annuity Mode with two-year deadlines.

However, the inability of West Bengal government to acquire required land for the same, means the project is stuck.

The 620 km Varanasi-Kolkata expressway will be parallel to NH-19 (old NH2) and connect Chandauli in Uttar Pradesh (UP), Ranchi in Jharkhand, and Howrah (Kolkata) in West Bengal.

The expressway once complete will unite the two cultural capitals of the country, Varanasi and Kolkata. Riding on this expressway, a devotee would take about 7-8 hours to reach from Kashi Vishwanath Temple in Varanasi to Kalighat Temple in Kolkata, paying his obeisance to both Shiva and Kali in a day.

Lagging in West Bengal

Starting at the junction of NH19 and Varanasi Ring Road, the access-controlled expressway passes through Bihar and Jharkhand, before terminating at NH16 near Uluberia in Howrah district in West Bengal.

The lion’s share of the expressway (242km) passes through West Bengal and will connect Purulia and Bankura, West Medinipur, Hooghly and Howrah in the state.

Representative Route of Varanasi-Kolkata Expressway

However, while NHAI has already floated tenders for the entire stretch in UP (22 km) and Jharkhand (187 km) and more than 95 per cent length in Bihar (159 km), tender notices are still pending for the West Bengal section where land acquisition has typically been slow and painful.

The land acquisition in all states barring West Bengal is nearing completion, and the NHAI has been in the process of handing compensation to people who have parted with their land for the project.

Do-It-Yourself

The Trinamool Congress government, which came to power in 2011 following a strident campaign against the land acquisition for Tata Motors’ Singur plant has maintained an arm’s length from land acquisition especially for Central projects.

The Bengal’s policy on land acquisition is centred around three key elements-

  • All entities (private investors or public sector undertakings) have to negotiate directly with the landowners or encroachers (on government or private land) and acquire land from them for their projects.
  • No proactive support from the state authorities to help private investors and public entities like the NHAI or the Railways acquire land from private landholders or even those who have encroached on public land.
  • Government is willing to actively support land owners in their fight to “resist” any attempts to acquire lands without “fair compensation”.

The myopic policy on land acquisition means many crucial public projects like expressways, metro rail is stuck in logjam.

For example, in August last year, Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) has pulled itself out of the proposed Khagra-Joydev coal block project in West Bengal as it was not able to acquire required land for the same.

Around 4,100 acre of land was required for the project at Dubrajpur in Birbhum district and of which, 3,500 acre was supposed to be acquired directly from the villagers. DVC which was offering Rs 35 lakh per acre failed to acquire the land in absence of an active role from the state government.

It is the same Birbhum district where the Deocha-Pachami coal mining project – the second-largest coal block in the world and the largest in India- is located.

The Policy

Land Acquisition constitutes the first basic requirement for capacity addition of an existing road notified as a National Highway (NH) or development of a Green-field expressway.

The land for development of NH is acquired under Section 3 of the National Highways Act, 1956 and compensation is determined in accordance with the First Schedule of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLARR) Act, 2013.

Issues Confronting NHAI

Apart from government apathy, directly negotiating land acquisition in Bengal is a highly complicated exercise, which only exacerbates the problem.

Landowners in Bengal hike the prices and ask for much more than the prevailing market rates once they come to know about the proposed project and refuse to shift unless they get the hefty compensations they ask for.

“We cannot acquire land from private entities at arbitrary rates. These rates are laid down for all categories of land and we cannot increase the rates. A major problem is acquiring land from encroachers. These encroachers don’t have any land documents and so it is not possible for us to give them any compensation for the land (mostly government land) they are squatting on,” a senior NHAI officer told Swarajya.

Also, any land acquisition process gets complicated with the involvement of local politicians belonging to the rural party.

“Local politicians get involved and encourage land-owners and squatters to demand very high compensation. The politicians then take a cut from the compensation that is given to landowners. This doesn’t happen in other states,” the NHAI officer said.

Land holdings in Bengal are small and fractured with even one bigha of land having multiple owners. Negotiating individually with all of them is virtually impossible for the NHAI.

Also, a lot of privately-owned land in Bengal is under litigation – Bengal is a very litigious state – and so acquiring such land is practically impossible without the help of the state government.

“Very often, the state government’s help in negotiating intractable disputes over land is crucial, but we get little help and that has stalled many projects,” said a Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) officer.

The vexing issue of land acquisition in the state is more prominent in three districts, namely, Bankura, Hooghly and Howrah.

The end result is that the NHAI is willing to offer compensation which is more than the prevailing market rate but wants the state government to acquire the land for the Kolkata expressway.

Delay On The Horizon

With NHAI hoping to allot work worder in coming months, the construction of this expressway is set to commence in January 2023.

The expressway is expected to be opened by FY 2026-27 as announced by Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari in the Parliament in November 2022.

However, the land acquisition hurdles in West Bengal, unless resolved sooner, may dent the prospect of opening up the 22,500 crore expressway project and may have major economic implications for the key mineral producing regions of eastern India- Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal.

Three Years And Counting: Parliamentary Committee Urges Government To Expedite Work On Vadhavan Port In Maharashtra

By
Amit Mishra
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A parliamentary committee has urged the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways to make more efforts to develop the Vadhavan Port rapidly.

In its latest report, the department-related standing committee on Ports noted that three years have passed since the ‘in-principle’ approval of the port and hence more efforts are required for building the greenfield port.

The Union Cabinet in Feb 2020 had approved setting up a new major port at Vadhavan near Dahanu in Maharashtra at a cost of RS 65,544.54 crore.

The Ministry of Ports has proposed to develop Vadhavan Port as India’s largest deep draft port in Land lord model by a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) incorporated under Companies Act, 2013, with Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) as the lead partner.

Under this Model, the port authorities develop the core assets and most of the commercial activities are handled by the private operators under the framework of a Concession Agreement.

The SPV with JNPT as the lead partner will develop the port infrastructure, including reclamation, construction of breakwater, and establishing connectivity to the hinterland. All business activities would be undertaken under public private partnership (PPP) mode by private developers.

The Project

The port project is part of the Centre’s Sagarmala initiative that aims to make Indian ports major contributors to the country’s GDP.

The Vadhavan port has been planned by the JNPT as an ‘All Weather, All Cargo’ satellite port to enhance capabilities in handling deep draft ships and larger vessels.

Location of Vadhavan Port

One of the prime advantages of the Vadhavan Port is its natural draft which is about 20m close to the shore. It will aid in accommodating huge container ships.

The development of India’s 13th major port, in Maharashtra, is currently at the stage of environmental clearance.

Deep Draft Port

The JNPT and Mundra, the two largest container handling major ports of the country can handle only mid-size container ships as they have a draft of 15 metres and 16 metres respectively.

Compared to this, the world’s largest container handling modern deep draft ports require a draft of 18-20 metres. The ever-increasing size of container ships makes it imperative that a deep draft container port in West Coast of India is developed to accommodate such ships.

The Vadhavan port with a natural draft of about 20 meters makes it possible for the port to handle bigger vessels. Development of Vadhavan port will enable call of container vessels of 16,000-25,000 TEUs capacity, giving advantages of economies of scale & reducing logistics cost.

A TEU or Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit is an exact unit of measurement used to determine cargo capacity for container ships and terminals.

Boosting Container Traffic

JN Port, the biggest container port in India, currently holds 28th position in the world with a traffic of 5.1 million TEUs. Moreover, container traffic in the JNPT is expected to grow to 10.1 Million TEUs by 2022-25 when JNPT’s potential will be fully exhausted.

The demand for container traffic will further accelerate after the plans for improving logistic infrastructure fructify and the ‘Make in India’ push drives greater exports and manufacture sourcing to India.

Even after the completion of the fourth terminal at JN Port with a capacity increase up to 10 million TEUs by 2023, it will stand as the 17th largest container port in the world.

With the development of Vadhavan port, India will break into the countries with top 10 container ports in the world – the port will add approximately 15 Million TEUs by the year 2035.

With an increase in container shipping, the port, which will be close to the JNPT in Uran, Navi Mumbai, is also expected to handle the spillover in container vessel traffic at the Jawaharlal Nehru Port.

Zooming Through Highways: GPS-based Toll System To Be Introduced In six Months, Will Replace Toll Plazas

By
Amit Mishra
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New toll collection system based on advanced technologies including GPS-based systems will be introduced in the next 6 months.

This was said by Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari while addressing an event organised by industry body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

“The government is looking at new technologies including GPS-based toll systems to replace toll plazas in the country…We will bring new technology in six months,” he said.

Currently, about 97 per cent of the total toll collection of nearly Rs 40,000 crore happens though FASTags, the RFID-based cashless toll collection method. Remaining 3 per cent vehicles pay higher than normal toll rates for not using FASTags.

During 2018-19, when the highways had manual toll collection lane, the average waiting time for vehicles at toll plaza was 8 minutes. With the introduction of FASTags, the average waiting time at the toll plaza has reduced to 47 seconds.

Further, with FASTags, there is a marked throughput enhancement- more than 260 vehicles can be processed per hour via electronic toll collection lane as compared to 112 vehicles per hour via manual toll collection lane, according to government data.

However, despite easing traffic at toll plazas across the country, congestion is still reported as there are toll gates that need to be crossed after authentication.

The move to replace existing highway toll plazas in the country with tech-based toll collection is aimed at reducing traffic congestion and charging motorists for the exact distance travelled on the highways.

As such, the government is currently looking to ANPR and GPS technology as two of the options for toll collection.

Automatic Number Plate Reader (ANPR)

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has appointed a consultant agency for detailed study on Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology.

In this system, applicable user fees is deducted from bank account based on the entry and exit of the vehicles as captured by ANPR cameras installed at various entry and exit locations.

A pilot implementation of the ANPR based system has been implemented along stretches of Delhi-Meerut Expressway (DME).

The plan is to remove toll plazas on national highways and instead rely on ANPR cameras, which will read vehicle number plates and automatically deduct toll from the linked bank accounts of vehicle owners.

Modi In Varanasi: Five Key Infra Projects That Will Reshape Prime Minister’s Constituency

By
Amit Mishra
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Varanasi today (24 March) and will launch multiple development initiatives, including inaugurating and laying the foundation stones of projects worth over Rs 1,780 crore.

Prime Minister Modi has chosen to represent Varanasi in the Parliament since 2014 and has put a special focus on transforming the landscape of Varanasi and enhancing ease of living for the people living in the city and adjoining areas.

Taking another step in this direction, Prime Minister will dedicate and lay the foundation stone of 28 projects during a programme at Sampurnanand Sanskrit University ground in the city.

Swarajya takes a look at key infrastructure initiatives that are currently under implementation in the home constituency of the Prime Minister.

1. Varanasi Ropeway

The 3.8-km ropeway will be the country’s first urban transport ropeway and connect Varanasi’s Cantonment Railway Station and Godowlia Chowk.

With a carrying capacity of 3,000 passengers per hour per direction, the ropeway will facilitate ease of movement for the tourists, pilgrims and residents of Varanasi.

As per the design, five stations will come up on this corridor at Varanasi Cantonment, Vidya Peeth (Bharatmata Mandir), Rath Yatra, Girja Ghar and Godowlia chowk.

Indicative Alignment of Varanasi ropeway.

Estimated to cost around Rs 645 crore, the project is being developed by an Indian firm, Vishwa Samudra Engineering supported by its technology partner Bartholet Maschinenbau AG of Switzerland.

Currently, the journey through one of the most congested stretches in the city takes about 60 minutes during peak hours, which will be reduced to about 17 minutes post completion of the ropeway, thus, helping ease the pressure on the existing transport infrastructure.

2. Varanasi-Kolkata Expressway

The 620 km Varanasi-Kolkata expressway will enhance connectivity for the entire eastern India and has an estimated budget of Rs 22,500 crore.

Starting at the junction of NH-19 and Varanasi Ring Road, the access-controlled expressway passes through Bihar and Jharkhand, before terminating at NH-16 near Uluberia in Howrah district in West Bengal.

Representative Route of Varanasi-Kolkata Expressway.

The alignment of the greenfield expressway is parallel to NH-19 (old NH-2) and connects Chandauli in Uttar Pradesh (UP), Ranchi in Jharkhand, and Howrah (Kolkata) in West Bengal, while traversing a distance of 22 km in UP, 159 km in Bihar, 187 km in Jharkhand and 242 km in Bengal.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has so far invited tenders for 10 packages in UP and Bihar under Hybrid Annuity Mode with two-year deadlines.

The six-lane expressway is targeted for completion by FY 2026-27, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari informed the Parliament in November 2022.

3. Varanasi-Aurangabad-Chordaha Economic Corridor

Starting near Varanasi, the six-lane (expandable to eight-lane) economic corridor passes through Aurangabad in Bihar, before ending at Chordaha on Bihar-Jharkhand border.

The 262-km-long economic corridor is part of GT Road and will be extended to Dhanbad in Jharkhand.

With an estimated cost of Rs 5,000 crore, the NHAI has targeted to completed the stretch till Chordaha by December 2023.

4. Kashi Station Redevelopment

Indian Railways has floated tenders for major upgradation of Kashi Railway Station through engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode.

The project, which is estimated to cost Rs 328 crore and has a construction period of 30 months, aims to create a railway station that is modern yet connected to the city’s traditions.

The redevelopment plan includes relocation of certain station functions and amenities for better utilisation of the premises.

These include consolidation of railway offices and the creation of two station buildings, one on the south-west and one on the north-east side of the tracks, to split the flow of traffic and improve circulation.

Other additions include covered platforms, new arrival foot overbridge, refurbishment of existing infrastructure, and a concourse that provides connectivity to the south-west and north-east station buildings by lifts, escalators, and connecting corridors.

Kashi railway station is in Varanasi district. It is 6 km east of Varanasi Junction railway station, 11 km north-west of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Junction railway station and 26 km south-east of Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport.

It serves the eastern suburbs of Varanasi district as a major secondary railway station to the Varanasi and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya railway stations.

5. Sigra Sports Stadium

With a view to achieve the twin objectives of mass participation and promotion of excellence in sports, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has approved the project for development and modernisation of Sigra Stadium in Varanasi, at an estimated cost of Rs 315.48 crore under Khelo India Scheme.

The stadium is located in the heart of Varanasi city with a total area of 64,650 square meters (approximately 16 acres).

The project is being implemented in three phases. Phase-I of the project involves creating an International Sports Competition venue, including an Olympic project-size swimming pool, with a spectator capacity of 2,000.

Phase-II and Phase-III of the project for which the foundation stone will be laid down today (24 March) are intended to develop various indoor and outdoor sports facilities.

Parliamentary Committee Recommends Full-Time MD In All Metro Corporations For Timely Implementation

By
Amit Mishra
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0

A Parliamentary Committee has attributed the delay in completion of metro projects to the absence of a dedicated managing director (MD) in Metro Corporations.

The Standing Committee on Housing and Urban Affairs in its report on ‘Demands for Grants’ of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) for the year 2023-24 has maintained that the metro rail projects running without any full time or dedicated managing director were very tardy.

According to the report, the Committee analysed the data provided by the Ministry and found the physical and financial progress of the metro projects in Patna, Surat, Agra, Bhopal and Indore very tardy.

“The Committee is surprised to note that some of the metro corporations/projects, namely Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation (GMRC) Limited, Mumbai Metro Line 3, Noida Metro Rail Corporation, Patna Metro Rail Project, Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Limited are operating without any full time/dedicated managing director,“ said the report.

The GMRC, Noida Metro Rail Corporation, and the Patna Metro Rail Project have been without a full-time director since 2019.

Similarly, the Mumbai metro line-3 and Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Limited have no full-time dedicated director from 2022.

The centre and the state government generally are equal equity shareholders in the Metro Corporations. Hence the appointment of directors is a joint responsibility of these two.

Recommendations

The report notes that the role of leadership in various metro projects is of utmost importance and crucial to understand, resolve, negotiate, facilitate and monitor the complex issues.

As such, the Committee has recommended that the Ministry should stress upon the need of appointing a full-time MD in all the Metro Corporations or Projects and take up the matter with various state governments at the earliest.

The Committee also recommended that frequent transfers of MDs of various metro corporations or projects may also be avoided to ensure constant and continued focus.

Aatmanirbhar Bharat: IOCL To Invest Rs 61,077 Crore To Set Up Petrochemical Complex At Paradip

By
Amit Mishra
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The Board of Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) has accorded ‘Stage-I’ approval for setting up Paradip Petrochemical Complex at Paradip in Odisha at an estimated cost of Rs 61,077 crore.

This mega project will be the state-run oil marketing company’s largest-ever investment at a single location.

The petrochemical complex shall include a world-scale cracker unit along with downstream process units for producing vital petchem products like poly propylene (PP), high density polyethylene (HDPE), linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) — these being building blocks of different grades of plastics.

It shall also facilitate production of niche chemicals and petrochemicals like phenol, IsoPropyl alcohol (IPA) and polymer.

Notably the project has been awarded a special package by the state government of Odisha, which approved a special package of incentives to improve viability of the Paradip petrochemical complex.

IOCL chairman Shrikant Madhav Vaidya said, “This cutting-edge, state-of-the-art petrochemical complex will undoubtedly be transformative in its impact, significantly advancing the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative.”

Petrochemical Intensity Index

The project is part of the company’s plan to significantly improve its petrochemical intensity index.

Petrochemical intensity refers to the percentage of crude oil that is converted directly into chemicals that are used to make plastic and other material.

Crude oil, pumped out of the ground and from below the seabed, is processed in refineries to make petrol, diesel and other fuel. It can be processed to make petrochemicals, bypassing the fuels.

IOCL’s petrochemical intensity — the percentage of crude oil converted into chemicals — is low at 5-6 per cent currently. The company intends to take it up to 10-12 per cent.

The firm’s newer refineries at Panipat in Haryana and Paradip in Odisha have the petrochemical intensity of 15-20 per cent which would be raised to 25 per cent, Shrikant Madhav Vaidya had told PTI in an interview last month.

Impact

The project will catalyse the growth of the Petroleum, Chemicals and Petrochemicals Investment Region and Plastic Park at Paradip.

On commissioning, the domestically available petrochemicals are expected to provide feed and vitalise industrial growth in key downstream industries like plastic, pharma, agrochemical, personal care, paints etc.

It is also expected to create employment opportunities in eastern India, especially Odisha.

H G Infra Bags Rs 677 Crore Contract To Upgrade Kanpur Central Railway Station

By
Amit Mishra
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0

Construction engineering company H G Infra Engineering has been declared as the lowest bidder for the redevelopment project of Kanpur Central Railway Station.

The North Central Railway (NCR) had floated the tenders for redevelopment project in Uttar Pradesh on engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) mode in September 2022.

While the estimated cost of the project was Rs 677.31 crore, H G Infra emerged as the lowest (L-1) bidder for the project by quoting a sum of Rs 655 crore.

A three-year deadline has been set to complete this state-of-the-art, modern terminus in Kanpur. This will be second big station in Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow, for which redevelopment begins this year.

Redevelopment Plan

Kanpur Central is one of the five “Central” railway stations in India. It is the busiest railway station in India in terms of frequency of trains.

It is a major intercity rail and commuter rail station in the city of Kanpur, and is situated on the Howrah-Delhi broad gauge route passing through Uttar Pradesh.

The Ministry of Railways recently posted a proposed design of Kanpur Central via its official Twitter handle that showed an impressive architectural marvel.

With finalisation of the contractor, the much-anticipated Kanpur Central Station’s redevelopment work is set to begin soon.

Amrit Bharat Station Scheme

Ministry of Railways has initiated a new scheme of ‘Amrit Bharat Station’ for development of railway stations across the country.

A total of 1,275 railway stations have been identified for development under this scheme, and Kanpur Central Station is one of the stations identified for development under this scheme.

The works planned under redevelopment of Kanpur Central Station are, roof plaza/air concourse, front side building, east side building, green building with platinum rating and GRIHA certification and solar panels, separate departure and arrival area for passengers and well-designed amenities for passenger like lounges, recreation area, waiting area, sitting points and rest room, etc.

A total of 149 station in UP have been selected for redevelopment under this scheme and includes some major stations such as Agra Fort, Aishbagh, Aligarh, Ayodhya, Banaras, Ghaziabad, Ghazipur City, Gomtinagar, Gorakhpur, Kanpur Central, Khalilabad, Lucknow (Charbagh), Lucknow city, Mathura, Prayagraj, Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyay, Raebareli Jn and Tundla.

Safety First: Japanese Firm JE Appointed For Core Shinkansen Technologies Work On Mumbai-Ahmedabad Bullet Train

By
Amit Mishra
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The National High Speed Rail Corporation Ltd (NHSRCL) has appointed Japan High-Speed Rail Electric Engineering (JE) for the execution of the core Japanese Shinkansen technologies works related to the safety and punctuality of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train.

JE, a Japan government nominated special purpose company, will be carrying out the works related to OCC (operation control centre) design contract, production and construction contracts for E1 package of the bullet train.

An agreement to this effect was signed between NHSRCL and JE on 20 March in New Delhi.

This shall speed up the works related to the core Shinkansen technology and ensure the same level of safety and quality as followed in Japan.

India’s First Bullet Train Project

Presently, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail (MAHSR) is the only sanctioned high-speed rail project in the country.

The high-speed rail operating at 320 kmph will traverse along west India’s landscape, covering 508.17 km distance between Mumbai and Ahmedabad in just about two hours.

This will save time compared to current travel time between the two terminal stations by about nine hours (by bus) or six hours (by conventional railways).

It will cover 155.76 km in Maharashtra, 4.3 km in the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and 348.04 km in Gujarat, with 12 stations en route.

The project, being executed by NHSRCL has progressed 25 per cent as against a 30 per cent target, at the end of January 2023 with the total cost incurred at Rs 36,722.60 crore.

According to the report prepared by NHSRCL and submitted to the railways, overall physical progress is 25.63 per cent as against the target of 30.06 per cent till January 2023, a shortfall of 4.43 per cent.

With the target shortfall of over 4 per cent, it would be tough to meet the August 2027 target to make the over 300-km-long route operational in Gujarat.

Shinkansen Technology

Shinkansen, a term used to describe bullet trains in Japan, has been embraced in Taiwan, India and the United States.

The Japanese Shinkansen technology is known for its impressive safety records. In more than 55 years of its operations, there have been no train accidents because of technological failure.

According to NHSRCL, the high-speed train system will be fitted with the most advanced crash avoidance system and automatic brake application in case of overspeeding, among others.

Since the train will pass through some of the vulnerable seismic zones (Kutch, Koyna-Warna region, and Latur-Osmanabad), the rail corridor will be equipped with an early earthquake detection system.

Kanpur: Work On 93 Km Outer Ring Road Project To Start Soon, Tenders Finalised For Two Packages

By
Amit Mishra
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0

Work on the ambitious Kanpur Outer Ring Road is finally set to begin.

This comes in the backdrop of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) finalising lowest bidders for Package 1 and Package 4 of the project.

The 23.325-km-long Package 1 lies west of Kanpur city and will connect Sachendi with Mandhana.

Similarly, the 24.559 km Package 4 lies south of Kanpur city and will connect Khudhgaon with Sachendi.

Plan

The six lane green field ring road is located around the Kanpur city. It starts from NH-19 near Sachendi village and ends at same point, ie, NH-19 near Sachendi village in Kanpur Nagar district in Uttar Pradesh.

Alignment of Kanpur Outer Ring Road (MetroRailGuy)

The 93.21-km-long greenfield highway passes through three districts of the state — Kanpur Nagar (62km), Unnao (27km) and Kanpur Dehat (4km).

The project shall be further connected to the major highways connecting the city. These include NH-19 from Delhi to Kolkata via Kanpur and Varanasi; NH-34 from Gangotri to Lakhnadon via Haridwar, Kanpur and Jabalpur and NH-27 from Porbandar to Silchar.

The State Highway 58 (SH-58) which connects Kanpur and Unnao will also be connected to the ring road.

Project Divided In Four Packages

The NHAI had invited tenders for both packages’ civil construction contracts in November 2022 with 2.5-year deadlines.

Raj Corporation Ltd has emerged as the lowest bidder for packages and 1 4, with bid cost of Rs 647.42 crore and Rs 547.67 crore respectively.

Bidding is currently underway for Package 3 while the tender process for the fourth package is yet to start.

The third package is 17.45-km-long from km 51.200 to 68.650 km around Kanpur city with a 1.45 km four-lane airport link road. The estimated cost of the contract is Rs 844.23 crore with a completion timeline of 2.5 years.

Rs 10,000 Crore Project Cost

Kanpur, one of the industrial capitals of India, once boasted of being the Manchester of the Eastern world. The city is a major hub for the leather and textile industries.

The city has been witnessing long traffic snarls which has worsened due to the entry of heavy vehicles in the city. In particular, a large part of the GT Road passes through the middle of the urban population.

For a permanent solution to this problem, the plan of Outer Ring Road was prepared in the year 2014. The initial action plan of 93-km continued to gather dust until 2020, when the NHAI conducted a pre-feasibility survey and commissioned a detailed project report.

Based on the feasibility report, the project was approved for implementation under Phase-VII of National Highways Development Project (NHDP).

Under NHDP Phase VII, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved for 700 km of ring roads, bypasses and flyovers and selected stretches at an estimated cost of Rs 16,680 crore.

An estimated Rs 10,000 crore shall be spent on constructing this ring road. This includes Rs 6,600 crore on construction and Rs 3,400 crore on land acquisition.

According to NHAI, efforts will be made to make the project a reality by 2025.

Gurugram Metro: Bids Invited To Select Design Consultant For 28.5 Km HUDA City Centre And Cyber City Line

By
Amit Mishra
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0

Gurugram’s long wait to get its own city-circling metro line is set to get over.

This comes in the backdrop of Haryana Mass Rapid Transport Corporation Ltd (HMRTC) last week re-inviting bids for the selection of Detailed Design Consultant for 28.5-km-long metro route between HUDA City Centre and Cyber City, Gurugram.

The new corridor will form a ring line through Gurugram and Old Gurugram via 27 stations.

The original round of bidding back in August 2022 had to be cancelled for poor participation.

Two Operational Lines

At present, there are only two metro lines operating in the city — a 7 km portion of the Delhi Metro’s Yellow Line and a 12.85 km Rapid Metro corridor.

The five stations — Guru Dronacharya, Sikanderpur, MG Road, IFFCO Chowk and HUDA City Centre — on the Yellow Line provides connectivity between Gurugram and Delhi.

Similarly, Rapid Metro is a fully elevated rapid transit system owned by HMRTC and operated by DMRC. With 11 stations, the Rapid Metro eases the commute between Cyber City and Golf Course Road and also has an interchange facility with Delhi Metro’s Yellow Line at Sikanderpur Station.

The plan to extend the metro facility from Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) City Centre to various important locations in Gurugram has been under consideration for several years, during which officials have deliberated upon various routes.

It was in August 2020, however, that the state government accorded approval for Detailed Project Report (DPR) of a 28.8 km Metro rail Connection from HUDA City Centre to old Gurgaon at a cost of Rs 6,821.13 crore.

However, due to some issues raised by the Centre, a revised DPR, incorporating the changes sought, was sent to the Centre again.

The project based on the revised DPR was cleared by the Public Investment Board (PIB) under Union Ministry of Finance in November last year. The Union Cabinet’s nod is now awaited for the Rs 6,400 crore project.

Alignment

The Gurugram Metro line from HUDA City Centre to Cyber City via Old Gurgaon will have a running distance of 28.5 km, including a 1.85 km Spur from Basai Village to Dwarka Expressway

The 26.65-Km-long Main Corridor from HUDA City Centre to Cyber City will be an elevated stretch with a total of 27 stations including Depot.

Indicative Alignment of HUDA City Centre-Cyber City Corridor (MetroRailGuy)
Dark blue line represents the rough alignment of the proposed metro corridor

The interchange with the Delhi Metro’s Yellow Line at HUDA City Centre will provide direct connectivity to a large part of Gurugram with Delhi.

Also, this line is likely have an interchange with the 106 km Delhi-SNB-RRTS line at Udyog Vihar which will provide connectivity upto Sarai Kale Khan (SKK), New Delhi on one side and Shahjahanpur, Neemrana and Behror (SNB), Rajasthan on the other side. These linkages will enhance the efficiency of transportation system in National Capital Region (NCR).

The metro line will cover the entire city of Gurugram and would give efficient and environment friendly transport system to the public of Haryana especially living in Gurugram and its vicinity.

It should be noted that the Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar while presenting the state budget for FY 2023-24 had said that the construction of HUDA City Centre-Cyber City Line would commence in 2023-24 after approval from the Union Cabinet.

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