NHAI yet to resume work on UER-II project despite DPCC's closure notice

12 Jan 2023 CW Team

As the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) has not yet lifted the closure notice, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is unable to resume construction on its Urban Extension Road-II (UER-II) project.

Even though the issue was discussed at a high-level meeting between Nitin Gadkari, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister and VK Saxena, Lieutenant Governor, Delhi, in December of last year, according to NHAI, the work is still on hold.

In order to speed up the procedure and enable the authority to begin the work, the NHAI claimed they had written to the DPCC once more.

For "violation of dust control norms," the DPCC issued challans totaling Rs 25 million ( Rs 5 million on each of the five packages) to NHAI on its UER-II project in November of last year.

According to NHAI, just one of the project's five packages has begun construction since the contractor paid the fine of 50 lakh. The project, which began in 2018, is expected to be completed in August 2023.

Additionally, it said that the fine of Rs 25 million was "extremely exorbitant."

When the LG and the union minister met in December of last year, the NHAI brought up the matter, stating that the compensation amount is quite expensive and that this is when there was no construction prohibition.

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