The land clearance for shifting the toll plaza from Kherki Daula Gurugram from the forest department for 49 of 50 acres in Panchgaon is likely this week. A committee of forest officials which was constituted in November for determining the land jurisdiction determined that the land allotted for the toll plaza is agricultural land and doesn’t come under their purview.

The new development follows the directions of the Punjab and Haryana high court in October, when it permitted the Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) to take control of the land for setting up the toll plaza. The committee, will this week submit its report to the forest department stating that the land being in Panchgaon doesn’t come under the Wildlife Protection Act or the Forest Conservation Act. The committee, after a detailed study, found that out of the 50 acres in question, one acre is covered under the Forest Conservation Act and cannot be used for development purposes.

According to the HSIIDC officials, all formalities have been completed and as soon as they get a clearance from the forest department, the letter of handover for Panchgaon land will be given to the Gurugram Metropolitan Department (GMDA). HSIIDC officials have stated that they are ready with the handover letter to the GMDA and will give the handover it immediately.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will set up the toll plaza within a few months after the land is transferred. The highway department has made all drawings for the toll plaza in Panchgaon. Farmers in Panchgaon are seeking the land compensation be paid as soon as the land transfer is complete. As the case ‘Fertile land users (farmers) vs Union of India’ filed in 2014 is still in court, they were not able to sell their land. The local residents want the toll plaza to come up as it would provide jobs to the youngsters in the area.

Removal of the Kherki Daula toll is a longstanding demand of residents of Gurugram’s newer sectors and commuters who get stuck in traffic jams at the toll plaza for more than an hour every day, since this toll came up in 2014. In 2017, Nitin Gadkari, Union minister for road, transport and highways, had announced that the Kherki Daula toll would be shifted from its current location. At present, 1,128 acres in Panchgaon are stuck in litigation, before the high court paved the way for 50 acres to be used for shifting the toll plaza.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/forest-dept-paves-the-way-for-shifting-toll-plaza/story-8QYGwjQhDaWoMLnbdyOADO.html

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