Toll plaza being built on part of bund, NHAI says got nod

GURUGRAM: The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is building a toll plaza at the Bhondsi-Ghamroj border, which is likely to damage a bund (check dam) along Sohna road. Nearly 15% of the bund is being destroyed, residents said. The highways authority, however, it has received all clearances required for the project.
Ghamroj bund is a natural rainwater canal which restores groundwater during the monsoon.It is 5km long and runs along Sohna road. The NHAI has acquired land for widening of NH-8 in area and has also acquired permission from the forest department for cutting of trees.
On one side of the road, where the bund falls, NHAI has started constructing a ‘rest area’ for vehicles, which has already damaged the bund. As per the Sohna Master Plan, 2031, no structural changes are to be made on this bund. At a time when the city is suffering from rapid groundwater depletion, destroying a natural bund will cause great environmental damage, residents said.
The Authority, on the other hand, said it has the required permission for the project. “We received clearance from all the departments concerned before starting construction,” a senior NHAI official said.
Rainwater from areas in Sohna get collected in the bund, where it seeps into the ground slowly. “This bund acts as a medium for the water to recharge groundwater levels. The rest area and the toll plaza are being constructed on the bund, which is a big concern,” said Nikhil Rao, a resident.
Another resident, Prem Mohan Gaur, added: “Restoring the condition of this bund is very crucial for the city. Every year, the city is flooded because of destruction of natural check dams. This is a disaster. We are losing all our water bodies to development. Very soon, we will run out of water in the region.”
Gaur also pointed out that not only is the bund getting destroyed, NHAI is also violating other norms as well. “According to the Planning Commission’s guidelines regarding toll plazas, land should be selected considering in mind the peak hour traffic of the next 20 years. This toll plaza is proposed right in front of the Country Inn Hotel, in a commercial area. This would create huge traffic issues in the future,” he said.
A visit to the under-construction toll plaza revealed that the ‘rest area’ and two petrol pumps are located within 1km of the toll plaza. As per the norms issued by the Union ministry of road transport and highways in 2013, no fuel station should be located within 1km from any barrier including that of toll plaza and railway level crossing. This norm is applicable to the ‘rest area’ as well, as a fuel station is generally considered a part of it.
Meanwhile, the forest department said the Ghamroj bund is 5km long and around 1km has been given to NHAI for development work. “We cannot deny diversion of forest land for development purposes. Permission to divert the land has been granted. The 1km area which has been approved for construction is the part where the bund ends, and the rest of the bund will not be impacted by the construction,” said a forest official.