NHAI may miss fresh date for Delhi-Meerut Expressway

NEW DELHI: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is staring at missing the fresh March 2020 target to complete the Delhi-Meerut Expressway (DME) project as it’s still struggling to get the remaining 10% of land from Uttar Pradesh government for building the greenfield stretch between Dasna and Meerut. The authority is yet to undertake any work on approximately six kilometres, which passes through over half a dozen villages in Ghaziabad.
Failure to build the 6 kms will make the entire 32-km greenfield stretch of no use for motorists unlike in highway expansion projects where traffic can keep moving on the existing stretch if some stretches are not widened. “Even a few metres of unreconstructed patch in a greenfield or new alignment corridor makes the entire road useless as there will be dead end. It will remain unused until we build the entire stretch,” said an official, who did not wish to be named.
Officials said the UP government is yet to hand over nearly 35 hectares of land even after two years since the NHAI took up the issue with the state.