Expressway will help in reducing pollution: PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said the Western Peripheral Expressway (WPE) would help in addressing the problem of pollution. PM Modi, who on Monday inaugurated Kundli-Manesar section of the Western Peripheral Expressway, said, "This Western Peripheral Expressway will contribute to reducing pollution."

"In a way, this expressway will help also the economy, environment, ease of travelling and ease of living," said Prime Minister Modi, who also inaugurated Escorts Mujesar to Ballabhgarh corridor of the Delhi Metro.

It is worth mentioning that the problem of pollution aggravates in the National Capital Region (NCR) with the advent of winter every year, which further worsens due to the burning of paddy straw in Punjab and Haryana.

The 136-km long expressway project, first conceived in 2003, was completed at an investment of around Rs 6,400 crore. The Eastern Peripheral Expressway, a part of the peripheral expressways project, was inaugurated earlier this year.

Taking a potshot at the Congress over the delay in completing the project, Prime Minister Modi said, "This expressway had to be completed during the Commonwealth Games, but we all know what was done then. This expressway was also a victim of that."

The over 83-km long section of the WPE will divert heavy vehicles which use Delhi as a transit point, thus easing traffic congestion on the city's ring roads and helping reduce pollution. According to an estimate, as many as 50,000 vehicles will be diverted from the city every day. The 53-km stretch of WPE between Manesar and Palwal was opened for the public use in April 2016.

The Mujesar-Ballabhgarh section of the Delhi Metro is a 3.2 km-long corridor, making Ballabhgarh the fourth Haryana city to be connected with metro after Gurugram, Faridabad, and Bahadurgarh. Prime Minister Modi also laid the foundation for Vishwakarma Skill University in Palwal.