Committee formed to decide the fate of Bhangel elevated road

The Noida authority has formed a committee to decide the fate of Bhangel elevated road that has been delayed due to the slow pace of work. Commuters and residents along the construction site have demanded that the work be expedited as the construction has put their lives in a disarray since long.

Noida authority chief executive officer Lokesh M last week directed the staff to stop the construction until the committee submits its report on the project being constructed at a budget of 468 crore.
CEO direction came after he realised that the Uttar Pradesh state bridge corporation engaged in the project has escalated the cost of the project by R150 crore citing the requirement of steel has gone up in this project with the changes in the design, said officials.

“The authority has formed a committee to look into Bhangel elevated road project issues including delay in work, budget escalation and others. Once the committee submits its report, the authority will decide its further action — as to how and when to start work at the site,” said Shripal Bhati, deputy general manager, Noida authority.

The authority CEO directed the stoppage of work as he wanted ”clarity” on the budget escalation. Officials said the DM has raised questions that if the detailed project report approved a budget of 468 crore, then why was there a need to escalate the cost now when the estimates were approved. The authority has also roped in the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, for vetting as to why a 150 crore budget escalation is required, said officials.

“Now the committee report will answer these questions, thereby deciding the future of this project. The committee will also seek help from IIT-Delhi in this regard,” said Bhati.
On July 24, the authority denied a payment of 48 crore to the Uttar Pradesh State Bridge Corporation (UPSBC), which is building the road. The corporation said the construction is about 70% complete after missing multiple deadlines.
According to the bridge corporation, earlier, there was a requirement of 20,000 tonnes steel for the elevated road and now with slight changes in the design, it needs 32,000 tonnes of steel to complete the work.
“In view of the increase in the quantity of the steel, there is a cost escalation of 150 crore and we have informed the Noida authority about this escalation,” said Sandip Gupta, chief general manager, UPSBC.

The Dadri road above which this elevated road is being built is dug up from Sector 49/48 intersection to Sector 82 T-Point, hassling residents and commuters.
The construction of Bhangel elevated road, spanning 5.5 km, began in 2020 but has been plagued by delays, resulting in traffic congestion on Dadri road and significant inconvenience to daily commuters and residents in the vicinity.
In November 2022, the Noida authority extended the project deadline from December 2022 to December 2023, on account of the Covid-19 pandemic. While the authority has completed 70% of the work on the project, progress has slowed down over the budget escalation issue.
During rush hour, the Noida authority diverted traffic from junctions in Sector 107, Sector 49, Sector 82, as well as several internal roads, redirecting traffic to alternative routes. Consequently, this has caused significant chaos for commuters.
“For the past three years, we have been facing huge problems as the road below it is badly dug up and the construction work has affected the life of residents. The authority must address the issues without wasting much time in view of the problems it is causing us,” said Deepak Kumar, a resident of Bhangel.