Ambience developer asks homeowners to share cost of NH-48 underpass

Homeowners of Ambience Lagoon condominium near Sirhaul toll plaza in Sector 24 have expressed their dismay after being served notices and asked by Ambience Group to share the cost of construction of an underpass on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway.
The expressway was constructed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and funded jointly by the NHAI, Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), DLF and Ambience Group on a shared basis.
The residents alleged that the underpass is constructed on the national highway, and it primarily benefits the traffic movement of the entire city, and also the properties developed by the two builders — DLF and Ambience.
Residents also said that no consent was sought from them regarding the payment for the construction of the underpass, when it was planned nor were they informed about any such proposal.

Ambience Lagoon is a residential society and is part of the upscale Ambience Island township.
“We are shocked by this development as the underpass is part of the NH-48, which is a government property and outside the Ambience Island campus. The underpass is used by vehicles from Gurugram and NCR, and not us alone. It also benefits the properties developed by the two realty firms. We will soon lodge an official complaint with the authorities,” said Sanjay Lal, general secretary, Ambience Lagoon residents’ welfare association (RWA), adding that there are 354 flats in their society.

As per the notice issued by the developer, each of the flats has to pay proportionate reimbursement of infrastructure cost incurred by the NHAI to construct the underpass near Ambience Island at the rate of 14.61 per square foot multiplied by the area of the flat.
“Each flat owner has been asked to pay upward of 40,000 for the underpass, which is a public property. We don’t own it; we are not using it exclusively and are still being asked to bear its cost. This is strange,” said a homeowner, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The developer, when asked about the matter, said that not only flat owners in Ambience Lagoon but all property owners in Ambience Island, which is an integrated township, have been asked to share the cost of the infrastructural upgrade, which has happened due to the construction of the underpass.

“Why should only the developer pay for infrastructure as the agreement between the builder and buyers clearly states that the cost of infrastructure development in common areas will be shared by all homeowners and the developer. All costs for future development cannot be borne by the developer alone. Also, the buyers have to bear the cost of external development and maintenance,” said Raj Singh Gehlot, chairman and managing director, Ambience Group.
The Ambience underpass and flyover, constructed by the NHAI, became operational in November 2021. The project was built at a cost of 170 crore and its objective was to decongest the Sirhaul toll plaza, Udyog Vihar and areas around Cyber Hub and Shankar Chowk.
The cost of the Ambience underpass, which primarily was funded by NHAI and the two developers is around 102 crore, and the liability of each developer is around 25 crore each.

A senior NHAI official said the underpass was built at GMDA’s request with the understanding that half of the cost will be borne by the NHAI and the remaining amount will be paid by the GMDA. “We have constructed the underpass and have been pursuing the GMDA to pay its share. We are not aware about any demands being made by developers nor can we comment on it,” said the official on the condition of anonymity.

A senior GMDA official, when asked about the matter, said that notices have been sent to both DLF and Ambience for depositing their share for the underpass construction cost, which is around 25 crore each.
The notice issued by Priya Sardana, general manager, (project coordinator) on July 28 to both Ambience Developers and DLF said, “This is in continuation of various communications. We regret to mention that deposit of the amount committed for the construction of the U-turn underpass is still awaited. As you are aware, construction of the U-turn at Ambience Mall has been completed since long and NHAI is following up for the due amount. May accordingly arrange for the same to deposit expeditiously.”

Sardana could not be contacted for comment on the matter.
When asked about the matter, a DLF spokesperson said, “We have not received any fresh demand. Whenever we get it, we will examine and resolve it.”
PC Meena, CEO, GMDA said that he will look into the matter after getting details.
It may be recalled that the work on the underpass began on March 5, 2019; but due to a construction ban later that year due to pollution and subsequently the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020, the project was repeatedly delayed. It became operational in November 2021.
The length of the U-turn underpass is 377 metres, while the entire stretch, including access roads, is 1.5km long, including a 559-metre-long and seven-metre-wide service road. The width of the underpass is 14 metres and the vertical clearance of the tunnel is 5.5 metres.

The structure has played a key role in reducing congestion at Sirhaul and helped residents of the city to take a U-turn without going to Rajokri in Delhi to reach Ambience mall, DLF Cyber Hub, Udyog Vihar and Iffco Chowk.