Work on Rs 4,750 crore Ring Road projects to start in a month: Nitin Gadkari

NEW DELHI: To decongest roads of the National Capital, work on Rs 4,750-crore projects for Delhi's lifeline Ring Road will start within a month, Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said today.

"Government is serious to ease congestion on Delhi roads. We have awarded tenders for Rs 4,750 crore projects for Delhi Ring Road and work is likely to start within a month," Gadkari said on the sidelines of launch of India-Nepal bus service.

Gadkari said the government will ensure that work on these projects are expedited, efforts are on to start work on the stretches of Ring Road which fall in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and where work has been stopped.

"We have convened a meeting in this regard and would hold talks with Haryana Chief Minister to solve the issues," he said, adding that if needed, the Centre is ready to take over the projects where work has stopped.

The central government has already set a deadline of three years to complete the Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressways, which aim to decongest Delhi roads.

The two expressways - each about 135 km long - were planned in 2006 following a Supreme Court order to form a ring road outside Delhi for channelling non-Delhi bound traffic bypassing the national capital.

Eastern Peripheral Expressway envisages providing signal-free connectivity between Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gautam Budh Nagar (Greater Noida) and Palwal while the Western Expressway connects Kundli to Palwal via Manesar in Haryana.