GURGAON: Legal hurdles coming in the way of the under-construction 16-lane expressway from the Delhi-Gurgaon border to Sector 55-56 seems to have been resolved with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) giving its approval to resume the construction work.
The residents of the National Media Centre had approached NGT asking it to halt construction work, alleging that DLF and HUDA were encroaching on the green belt that belonged to them.
In a fresh hearing on Tuesday, an NGT bench headed by Jyothimani said the road widening project does not unduly affect the residents of the nearby areas. It also said that it has to be respectfully accepted as a proposition of law that individual interest or, for that matter, smaller public interest must yield to the larger one.
The upgrade of HUDA sector road is being jointly carried out by the authority and DLF. The 16-lane expressway is an 8.3-km signal-free corridor connecting NH-8 to Golf Course Road.
According to the NGT order, the road was being constructed to enhance traffic flow, subject to environmental safeguards. According to the provisions of the Forest Conservation Act, 1980, the project road does not fall in the forest reserve area as informed to the Supreme Court by the state government.
The order also stated that efforts are also being made to transplant trees if it is feasible and to plant at least 10 trees for every tree cut. As per the revised plan only 26 trees will be required to be cut near the NMC on the land which belongs to the government. No tree on the land belonging to the NMC will be cut.
According to DLF, it has already planted 11,000 saplings and approximately 165 trees have been re-transplanted. "We are focused towards maintaining a balance between the environment and development while executing the project. This project will provide an optimum solution for smooth traffic movement, reducing traffic congestion and bottlenecks in Gurgaon. The widening of the road will also contain the ambient noise," said a DLF official.