Nagpur : MahaMetro officials fear that they may not be able to meet the target of completing Nagpur Metro by December 2019 due to problems in Reach 2 (Sitabuldi to Automotive Square). National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is yet to sanction the design and estimate of the double decker flyover on Kamptee Road.
The file was submitted by MahaMetro over an year ago. The Metro agency is building the structure on behalf of NHAI. Work on the flyover has started but is progressing at a slow pace on one end. MahaMetro has already spent Rs100 crore on the Rs750 crore flyover but NHAI is yet to pay a single penny. Land acquisition is the major hurdle in construction of the 4.5 kilometre long flyover.
“MahaMetro needs about 4,000 square metre land near Gaddigodam Square for construction of the ramp of the structure. As per NHAI norms, the agency does not acquire land inside municipal limits. Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) was asked to bear the cost of acquiring the land,” said a source in MahaMetro.
As NMC is cash-strapped it decided to seek funds from state government under Nagar Utthan Yojana. Under this scheme the civic agency would pay 30% while remaining 70% will be borne by the state government. Municipal commissioner had issued a letter to NHAI in this regard. However, NHAI wants a letter from district collector assuring that government would pay its 70% share. Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari had asked collector Ashwin Mudgal to expedite the matter. The Metro source said that Kamptee Road is 20 metre wide at the place where the ramp will come up.
“We need 35m. Our column will occupy 3m and the ramp will be 15m wide. As per NHAI norms, the service road besides the ramp should be 7.5m on both sides plus there should be a 1m wide footpath on both sides,” he added.
“We need to acquire 150m stretch on Kamptee Road on both sides. Earlier, it was 250m but we reduced the length by making the increasing the gradient of the ramp. It can’t be minimized further,” said the source.
