Rs 10 cr Commonwealth Games road lies in tatters

GURGAON: Such is the plight of the drainage system in the Millennium City that the recent rains have washed away parts of a newly-constructed multi-crore road adjoining Ghata village. The 2km road, constructed in 2009-10 to connect Golf Course Extension Road and CRPF Kadipur shooting range during the Commonwealth Games 2010, has been partly washed away.
The road, which is currently two-lane (28m, including the median) was constructed by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (HUDA) at an estimated cost of Rs 10 crore, but like most roads, the government body did not bother to plan a drainage system so as to take the rain water away.
There is a plan for further expansion of the road, to be made into a 60m, 4-lane road.
When asked, HUDA simply passed the buck to the private contractor - Dilawar Singh Contractors - who have the onus of maintaining the road for five years (till 2015) for repair works. "The contractor will be carrying out the necessary repair works on the stretch," explained Naresh Pawar, an XEN with HUDA.
When contacted, Dilawar Singh said, "There is no drainage for this stretch and stagnant water on any bitumen road would damage it. On top of that, there is a huge amount of construction activity which is taking place, leading to movement of heavy vehicles, loaded with construction material. We are in the process of carrying out the repair works."
When asked what would be the expected expenditure for the work, Singh said the estimate would be about Rs 1.5 lakh.
This 2km road is a 60m wide road which as per Sector Development Plan. However, for the time being only two lanes with 12.5m stretch on both sides has been constructed and the road on the whole, along with the divider, is 28m wide.
However, the fact remains that without an outlet for rainwater, the road, which is in a low-lying area constructed around the Ghata lake bed, will get flooded and washed away every year.
TOI has highlighted in the past on several occasions that the Golf Course Extension Road being washed away during monsoon for the same reason.