The Hindu : Front Page : Way clear now for Delhi Metro to Gurgaon

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 05, 2006

Front Page

Front Page

Way clear now for Delhi Metro to Gurgaon

Gaurav Vivek Bhatnagar

NEW DELHI: The long-running controversy surrounding Delhi Metro's foray into Gurgaon in Haryana is all set to die down now with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation proposing to take the line at least half a kilometre away from the world heritage site of Qutab Minar. With the number of trees in between being large and the elevated rail track thus not visible from the monument, DMRC is hoping to get the nod of conservationists as well.

"We had studied four alternatives after which we arrived at the decision that we would take the line further away from Qutab Minar and change its alignment to pass through Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road. Since this new alignment is over 500 metres away from the monument, it would not affect it in any sense," asserts DMRC Managing Director E. Sreedharan.

Disclosing that DMRC has got in touch with the Archaeological Survey of India and INTACH with the proposal and even called over their experts to the new site to see for themselves that the dense tree cover in the area would ensure that the view of the Metro does not in any way harm the beauty of the monument, Mr. Sreedharan said a meeting has been convened on February 10 in which officials from all these organisations would hear each other out.

Glad that some of the officials he has spoken to have already sent out positive signals for the new proposal, Mr. Sreedharan said this would provide a speedy passage to Gurgaon from the heart of Delhi.

Mr. Sreedharan said DMRC was eager to preserve the looks of Qutab Minar, which is the only other world heritage monument in Delhi besides Humayun's Tomb. The new alignment would also do away with the need to construct a 2.88-km underground corridor beyond IIT which would have cost an additional Rs. 460 crores since the cost of construction of underground line is Rs. 270 crores per km as against Rs. 110 crores per km for elevated corridors.

The line up to Mehrauli -- which would be extended up to Gurgaon -- is an extension of the underground Delhi University-Central Secretariat Line I and is to be constructed during Phase II of the Delhi Metro Project, work on which has already started and is scheduled to be completed ahead of the Commonwealth Games in 2010.

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