Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway set for delay

Hindustan Times

Aimed at easing traffic off Delhi roads and providing alternate route to vehicles from neighboring states which use Capital roads for crossing over, India's longest signal-free Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) Expressway is all set to miss its deadline of July 2009.

Also known as Western Peripheral Expressway, this Rs. 1,915 Crore project is part of the proposed Ring Road around Delhi and is supposed to touch Eastern Peripheral Expressway on both its ends. However, the latter part of the ring is still to take off. KMP Expressway is the dream project of the Haryana Government.

Haryana State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) awarded the project to a special purpose vehicle company KMP Expressway Limited (KMPEL). The project was given on a BOT (build operate and transfer) basis with construction period of 36 months ending July next year.

Speaking to HT , Rajiv Arora, Managing Director, HSIIDC confirmed the KMP Expressway project was set to miss its July 2009 deadline. He refused to give a definite time frame as to when the project is to be completed. Even H.S. Kohli, Chairman, KMPEL admitted the project would not take off in totality by July next year but said the company would open a portion of it for vehicular traffic.

When asked whether the project would be ready before 2010 Commonwealth Games, Kohli replied, "Much before that."

Kohli attributed the possible delay to change in design and delay in transfer of land. Earlier only flyovers were planned on highway intersections but later these were upgraded to interchanges. However, HSIIDC denied the lag was because of the change in design and said it was probably because of delay in funding from financial institutions following litigations.

Kohli added, "We would open a portion of it in July next year. We would, however, be missing on the interchanges as we are still to get land from the Haryana Government. The delay is also because of the change in the design of the project," he claimed.

Kohli is also one of the directors in DS Constructions, the concessionaires of Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway.

Meanwhile Arora said, "It is quite evident now the project would be delayed, despite the fact we had transferred the required land for right of way (ROW) to the company KMPEL in time. The delay has been caused because the company did not get loan following litigation cases. There was no delay in acquiring land for ROW and transferring it to the company."

Reliance Infra sole bidder for expressway

The HINDU

Reliance Infrastructure has emerged as the sole bidder for the 135 km greenfield Eastern Peripheral Expressway project covering Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh on build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis being offered by the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI). The project would entail an investment of Rs. 2,676 crore and involves construction of greenfield six lane expressway with access control highway connecting Faridabad-Noida-Gaziabad-Sonepat which will also act as bypass to Delhi with a concession period of 20 years.

ईस्टर्न पेरिफेरल का रास्ता साफ

According to an official release here, once operational, the new expressway will ease traffic congestion, drastically cut travel time and ensure safe and comfortable movement of traffic. The company is at present in advanced stages of the four-laning of five National Highway projects in Tamil Nadu, covering a length of 400 km at a cost of Rs. 3,100 crore.

In another development, the company has bagged the four laning of Faridabad-Gurgaon road and upgradation of Ballabgarh-Sohana road on build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis. The project is expected to be completed in two years from the date of commencement with a concession period of 17 years.

Four-lane road to link Faridabad & Gurgaon

Dipak Kumar Dash, The Times of India
In a bid to ensure free flow of traffic on two important roads in NCR, Haryana PWD has awarded the widening of these two-lane roads to four-lane ones. Expected to be over in two years, Faridabad-Gurgaon Road (33.5 km) and Ballabhgarh-Sohna Road (32.6 km) will provide much-needed relief to daily commuters as well as to tourists heading from Delhi to getaway destinations like Badkhal Lake, Surajkund Craft Fair, Damdama Lake, Sohna and Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary.

PWD officials said the projects involving Rs 180 crore had been awarded to Reliance Infrastructure. However, the comfortable ride will come at a cost Rs 20 per trip that will be collected as toll fee. Concession period of the project is 17 years.

According to Haryana PWD officials, the project also includes bringing in necessary changes in the road geometry to make them safe. At present, there are several horizontal and vertical curves on the Gurgaon-Faridabad Road, leading to fatal accidents. Hence, there is a necessity to redesign the stretch to make it safe for commuters.

Initially, the project cost was Rs 230 crore, but it was reduced to Rs 180 crore after reviewing the scope of work. The Gurgaon-Faridabad Road starts from Gurgaon-Mehrauli Road at Sikanderpur and ends in Faridabad. The stretch, which passes through crushers' zone, is generally used by truckers carrying quarry materials.

Similarly, the the Ballabhgarh-Sohna Road takes off from Ballabhgarh on Delhi-Mathura road on NH-2 and terminates at its junction with Rewari-Palwal road on NH-71B. As per the bid document, Gurgaon-Faridabad Road runs through urban areas as well as rural habitats. The Ballabgarh-Sohna Road passes through plain terrain of the Aravalis. To undertake the widening, nearly 1,945 trees have to be felled on the Gurgaon-Faridabad stretch and another 3,778 have to be cut for Ballabhgarh-Sohna corridor. "Compensatory afforestation will be done.

As per the agreement, the concessionaire will plant and maintain saplings along the stretches,'' said a PWD official. There will be two toll plazas on Gurgaon-Faridabad road one on crushers' zone road and the other on Pali-Bhakri road.

"There are too many openings on this stretch, so we have made the provision of two toll collection points, but no commuter has to pay twice during one trip,'' Haryana PWD secretary K K Jalan said. Similarly, there will be two toll plazas on the other link road.

J N Kaul passes away

A sturdy voice of needy children in India had fallen silent forever on December 16, 2008. Shri Jagan Nath Kaul, Papaji for hundreds of children left for heavenly abode. He was the founder member and Patron for Life Picture: J N Kaul with Indira Gandhi 1973
of SOS Children's Villages of India. He worked a lot for the cause of displaced Kashmiri Pandits.

A visionary and an institution-builder J N Kaul always stood for the cause of needy.
He breathed his last in the Escorts Fortis hospital in Faridabad after the prolonged illness.

J.N. Kaul dedicated his life for the sake of children and started a movement when he established the first SOS Children's Village at Greenfield in Faridabad in 1964 with the active support of the then prime minister Indira Gandhi. Dr. Hermann Gmeiner, his friend and founder of SOS-Kinderdorf International, carried a unique childcare concept along with him when he was visiting India in 1963. J N Kaul found the long-term support idea wonderful and put this before the friends and like-minded people of India. The response was tremendous and today there are 31 SOS Children's Villages and more than 75 allied projects supporting thousands of needy children.

He never used the word Orphan for a child and made sure that a child when comes 'home' at SOS Children's Village he/she must grow with love, security and respect which eventually had become the guiding principle for the organisation. He maintained, “by bringing home a child, we reaffirm our faith in life and the basic goodness of mankind.”

Whenever he heard about a child is in danger he tried hard to reach. He contributed the society in many ways and guided the state and voluntary organisations by his ideas and experiences. The government of India recognized his unflinching zeal to serve needy children and conferred one of the biggest civilian honours on him -Padma Shree in 2000.

SOS-Kinderdorf International, the umbrella organisation of the SOS Children's Villages worldwide made him honorary member the first one from Asia in year 2005.

He had been associated with various government and voluntary agencies engaged in childcare such as Member of Expert Committee for Care and Rehabilitation of Destitute Children, member of Executive Committee, Indian Council for Child Welfare, Vice President of Association for Social Health in India, President of Defense for Children International in India, President of Kashmiri Sevak Samaj, Faridabad and KECSS-Delhi and also member of Rehabilitation Council for Militancy Victims in Kashmir.

He received the greatest award in form of 'Papaji'- all children and co-workers lovingly call him so. One of the youths who grew in SOS Children's Village Greenfields recalled, J N Kaul, " He always had the time for tiny details such as whether we had the pens, books or what was on the menu at lunch, a terrific human-being. I lost my father"

J.N. Kaul was recipient of many awards and honours including the Raja Rammohan Roy Teacher's Award, the G.D. Birla Award, the Rajiv Gandhi Manav Seva Award, the Twentieth Century Achievement Award (awarded by the American Biographical Institute USA), the Dadabhai Naroji New Millennium Award, the Satpal Mittal National Award and the Vayoshrestha Award by the Ministry of Social Justice.

Shri J. N. Kaul is survived by his wife Indira, son, three daughters and grand children. Born on October 13, 1924 in Srinagar, he had his early education in Srinagar followed by Universities in Punjab, Rajasthan and Delhi. He was one of the earliest Fulbright scholars from India.

Pictures of J N Kaul

Faridabad's slum concern is second only to Mumbai

Times of India

Faridabad seems to be catching up fast with Mumbai when it comes to sprawling slums. With 46% of its population living in slum areas, it's only second to Mumbai which has 54% people residing in slums.

This was stated by P K Mohanty, joint secretary and mission director of JNNURM, on Wednesday at the national conference on JNNURM and Urban Mobility India in the Capital. So far, Faridabad ranks second among the 35 million-plus cities as far as the slum population is concerned. Moreover, majority of the NCR cities of Haryana including Rewari, Rohtak, Hisar, Sonepat, Panipat, Karnal and Bhiwani have over 30% of their population residing in slums, according to the 2001 Census report.

Planners say that Faridabad has achieved this notorious distinction due to rapid industrial development witnessed in the late 1970s and unplanned development. Also, they say the city managers have failed to create affordable housing for industrial workers. "Because of industrial development, work force from all over north India came here in search of jobs due to which the slums expanded,'' says Faridabad municipal commissioner R K Khullar. He added that the city was known as the New Industrial Township (NIT).

Those who have lived here for over half a century recollect how the sleepy urban centre became the hub of industrial development in north India with several reputed industries starting their operations in early 1980s. "By 1987, it was at the peak with over 15,000 industries operating from here. The unorganized work force poured in, however, enough housing was not available to accommodate them. Hence, these migrants started living wherever they found space. These areas converted into slum clusters,'' says Ramni Prabhakar, general secretary of Manufacturers Association of Faridabad.

The unplanned growth and sprawling slum areas covered a major portion of Faridabad and colonies such as AC Nagar, Sanjay Colony, Mujeswar and Azad Nagar dotted the city. "Faridabad is the Dharavi of north India, the largest slummed city,'' Prabhakar says.

For the big industrialists and well-off residents of Faridabad, these slum clusters have spoilt its beauty. And, the unplanned infrastructure has made the city unlivable. Khullar says they have been taking enough steps to take development to each and everyone. "We have been successful in providing water supply to most slum-dwellers. We are also constructing 4,000 flats for the poor,'' he adds.

Gautam from Faridabad died in Mumbai terror attack

Gautam Gosain, 25, died when terrorists opened indiscriminate firing inside Taj hotel where he was working as a trainee. Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh to the family of Gautam Gosain.

Faridabad Plus reports that citizens of Faridabad gave a tearful and befitting farewell to 22-year old Gautam Gosain who became a martyr at the hands of terrorists at Hotel Taj in Mumbai. Three bullets from terrorist killed him on the morning of November 27. On hearing of Gautam’s death, people from all walks of life made a beeline to his parental house in Sector-48, Faridabad where his family has shifted four years back. Gautam’s parents brought his body last night.

Meanwhile, thousands of people visited Gautam’s house and paid a grand tribute to the soil’s son. Gautam was third in the family of two brothers and two sisters. He had been studying in the third and final year of chef’s course at Sofia Institute of hotel management and was working part-time in Hotel Taj. He was expected to return home after finishing the course in January next but fate had something drastically tragic in store for him and his family. His last remains were consigned to the flames at NH-IV cremation ground amidst recital of Vedic mantras attended by citizens of all shades from state cabinet minister down to his neighbours and other citizens. Police contingents controlled the traffic on all approaches to the cremation ground.

Speaking to Faridabad Plus, Gautam’s father Dev Singh said "On hearing of terrorist attack on Hotel Taj, I phoned up Gautam and he said he was going to the basement to hide from the attack. He suggested to me to keep watching news channels for a possible view of him in the melee of people trying to make good their escape." However, on Thursday morning the hotel authorities gave the shocking news of Gautam’s death to his family. The news spread like wild fire in the whole city and people from all walks of life started visiting his house.

Haryana’s chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda conveyed his deeply felt condolences to the bereaved family and announced a grant of Rs. 2 lakh from Chief Minister’s relief fund. The deputy commissioner Brijendra Singh has also sanctioned payment of Rs. 1 lakh from Red Cross Society on behalf of district administration.