Curation Team
GURUGRAM: Nearly a month after a ground-breaking ceremony was held with much fanfare to mark the start of the city’s new metro line, there is little to show on the ground.
The agency tasked with building the first phase of the 15.3 km corridor has yet to mobilise machinery or manpower, while the project is yet to progress.
GMRL handed over a 5.2 hectare land parcel in Sector 33 for setting up a casting yard, a facility where precast metro pillars and segments are made before being transported to construction sites.
A TOI visit to the site on Friday revealed several truck-trolleys parked on the land, along with makeshift structures.
While some earth-levelling work has begun, the site continues to be occupied by encroachers, slowing down mobilisation.
The work, awarded on Aug 14 to Dilip Buildcon Ltd and Ranjit Buildcon Ltd (DBL-RBL) at a cost of Rs 1,277 crore, involves constructing an elevated corridor between Millennium City Centre and Basai with 14 stations, along with a 1.8 km spur to Dwarka Expressway.
This phase was expected to be completed within 30 months.
Yet, on site, even the preliminary requirements are pending. Officials from the contracting agency said they wrote to the authorities to clear the site.
“We are prepared to start work, but the casting yard site is not clear. Unless this is resolved, setting up machinery and beginning segment production is not possible,” an official said.
GMRL officials acknowledged the hurdles.
They said the land, which was provided by HSVP, has been in use by transporters for years and they are unwilling to vacate.
“We have taken up the matter with HSVP and the district administration. Encroachments and structures need to be removed on priority because once the facility comes up, there will be movement of heavy-loaded trucks which can be hampered due to illegal occupation. The agency has already begun earth-levelling work,” a senior official said.
The official added that pre-construction activities have begun, including test piling, tree cutting, and barricading.
“Visible progress will be seen on the ground soon,” the official said.
The Gurgaon metro network has remained stagnant since 2017, when the Rapid Metro line’s second phase was completed.
The project, once operational, will give the much-needed boost to the city’s mobility. Along this corridor, interchanges are planned at Millennium City Centre with the Yellow Line, Subhash Chowk with the proposed Bhondsi metro line, Hero Honda Chowk with the RRTS corridors, and Sector 10 with the bus terminal-cum-depot.
A ramp to the Sector 33 depot and an underpass at Bakhtawar Chowk are also part of the plan.
