The air pollution level in Delhi and the neighbouring cities of Noida, Faridabad, Gurgaon and Ghaziabad would not have crossed an alarming point had two peripheral expressways been completed on time.
Forming a ring around the NCR area, the eastern (connecting Kundli, Ghaziabad and Palwal) and the western (Kundli, Manesar and Palwal) peripheral expressways were conceived to ensure that no-destined commercial vehicles, which are estimated to be more than 80,000 now, do not enter the city limits of Delhi.
While construction of eastern peripheral expressway has not even started, the work on western expressway, also known as the Kundli-Palwal-Manesar (KMP) Expressway, is stuck for several years now.
According to officials, the Haryana Government has rewarded parts of construction of the KMP Expressway recently and the work is likely to start very soon.
Delhi stands to benefit the most with the opening up of the KMP Expressway as long-distance vehicles will not be required to pass through the Capital city on its completion. After the KMP Expressway becomes operational, vehicles coming from Northern India on National Highway-1 and going towards Rajasthan and Gujarat can get on the KMP Expressway and take the National Highway-8 at Manesar.
Similarly, those driving towards Central and Southern India can attain National Highway-2 at Palwal.
In both cases, long-distance vehicles need not come to Delhi thus reducing the volume of traffic in the already congested Capital. The KMP Expressway will also reduce commuting time to Kundli, Manesar and Palwal considerably, besides providing faster access to the international and domestic airports. The opening up of the new road will also provide high-speed link between Northern and Southern Haryana.
Left neglected for two years and delayed by more than five years, work on the KMP Expressway is set to resume next month.
Now, it will be a six-lane expressway, not four-lane as planned earlier. Passing through five districts of Haryana namely Sonepat, Jhajjar, Gurgaon, Mewat and Palwal, the KMP Expressway will also act as a catalyst for socio-economic and infrastructure development in the region attracting private participation.
Delhi stands to benefit the most with the opening up of the KMP Expressway as long-distance vehicles will not be required to pass through the Capital city on its completion
