NEW DELHI: Drawing flak for snail’s pace construction and poor maintenance of the Gurgaon-Jaipur highway, the developer, Pink City Expressway Ltd (PCEL), has committed to infuse fresh investment to the tune of at least Rs 90 crore over the next two months. The highways ministry has also asked the developer to maintain the damaged service roads and diversions immediately, and failing so, the NHAI will undertake the work and recover charges later.

Highways minister Oscar Fernandes said that he recently held a meeting with PCEL after personally taking stock of the stretch. “They have committed to put Rs 10-20 crore soon, and the rest of the sum in two installments over the next two months. I have asked the NHAI to take up maintenance work, if the developer fails to do the needful soon. Commuters are facing problem and we want this to be fixed quickly,” Fernandes said.

After TOI carried a series of reports on commuters’ woes and Rajasthan Governor Margaret Alva’s letter on how the delayed expansion of the stretch has become an irritant for users paying toll, Fernandes himself inspected the under construction sites. He said that besides land issues the developer was also facing fund crunch to expedite work.

NHAI officials said that so far they have filled potholes on about 100 km of the main highway from the Jaipur side. Soon, PCEL will start repair and relaying work of diversions. “We are also inviting bids for Rs 20 crore for maintenance soon so that in case the developer delays work. It will take around two months to complete the maintenance of all affected stretches,” an NHAI official said.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Gurgaon-Jaipur-expressway-developer-pledges-Rs-90cr-for-maintenance/articleshow/22867711.cms

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