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LONG AWAITED Decision comes in wake of pressure from homebuyers and developers who have properties along the expressway

After getting the nod from the Haryana government to take up rehabilitation of Dwarka expressway oustees with original title deeds, Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda) Gurgaon has resolved that the Gurgaon section of the road from Kherki Daula to New Palam Vihar will be made motor-able by March 31. The proposal was approved in a meeting of the authority chaired by chief minister Manohar Lal khattar in Chandigarh. It was also agreed that issues pertaining to general power of attorney or special power of attorney (GPA / SPA) holders can be decided later as this matter was still under litigation.

The decision comes in the wake of immense pressure from apartment buyers and developers who have properties on both sides of the expressway. Over 70,000 home buyers have invested in this area with the hope that the road will offer better connectivity both to Delhi and Gurgaon. As per the Huda proposal, the authority will acquire property of oustees with original titles and directions have already been issued to identify these within a week.

“The court had issued a stay on the issue of allotment letters to GPA/ SPA holders. By taking this new approach, work can be expedited and road can be made motorable by March 31. There are only 68 persons who are GPA/ SPA holders and their matter can be resolved based on the court’s directions,” said Yashpal Yadav, Huda administrator. The authority had allotted 269 plots to expressway oustees through draw of lots between July and August 2016. Around 60 plots were also allotted to GPA/ SPA holders from a pool of 465 applicants. But, none of them could be given allotment letters as land owners objected to the inclusion of GPA/SPA holders in the draw of lots and obtained a stay from Punjab and Haryana

high court. However, with the Haryana government giving the go ahead to there habilitation of other oustees, Huda will now be able to con-duct a draw of lots for 140 oustees of Kherki Daula and Chauma, who had earlier disagreed with the land settlement

“The draw of lots,issue of allotment letters and removal of structures should not take more than a month. We want to make this road motorable by March 31 at all costs,” said Yadav, adding that an early hearing petition will also be filed in court once the communique from government comes.

The urban authority is also planning to write to the railway department to expedite the construction work of railway over-bridge. Besides,it has also asked the enforcement wing of huda to identify major structures on the right of way and hand over these to the engineering wing for demolition. The Dwarka expressway has been delayed by over seven years due to litigation by land owners and the latest court case had brought the project to a stands till. In October 2016, the Punjab and Haryana high court had stayed the issue of allotment letters to oustees, who did not have original title deeds. In November, 2016, the High Court had sought all documents including the GPAs/ SPAs on the basis of which allotment was made. The Court also did not give any relief to the authority when it approached it for vacating the stay and listed the matter for March, 2017.