Dec 20, 2024 04:23 PM IST
The project was initially slated to be completed by January 2023, and the timeline has been revised multiple times in the past few years
The entire stretch of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway (DME), which aims to reduce travel time between the financial and political capitals to 12 hours, will only be ready by 2026, minister of state (MoS) for road transport and highways Harsh Malhotra said on Friday.
The project was initially slated to be completed by January 2023, and the timeline has been revised multiple times in the past few years.
“Work is going on and it will get completed quickly. There are some technical and practical problems. Since the land has to be acquired from the general public, sometimes projects are delayed because of that,” Malhotra said during a press conference when asked about the cause of the delay.
He said multiple state governments are involved in the process as land acquisition is a state matter.
The foundation stone for DME was laid in March 2019 and the first stretch between Sohna in Haryana and Dausa in Rajasthan was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February 2023.
The PM incidentally, earlier this week, inaugurated another stretch of DME in Rajasthan while marking the first anniversary of the BJP government in the state.
Also Read:Delhi-Dehradun, Delhi-Mumbai Expressway completion soon: Nitin Gadkari
Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari earlier this month had admitted that there were some “deficiencies” in the construction of the Delhi-Vadodara (DVE) section of the expressway during question hour in Parliament.
He said that experts from IIT Kharagpur are investigating the issue of damage at certain locations on the Sohna-Dausa section of the expressway caused after heavy rains during the monsoon.
He said the damages are being repaired by the contractor at their own cost and strict action would be taken against the contractors if the investigation finds them at fault.
Earlier in July, Gadkari had said the project’s completion time was October 2025 and already 80% of the 1,368 km of the entire project was built. At that time, he had said that work was underway in 27 stretches.
Get Current Updates on…
See more