Open Eastern Peripheral Expressway before May 31: SC

The Supreme Court on Thursday said the 135 km-long Eastern Peripheral Expressway, built to decongest traffic in Delhi, will stand open to public if not inaugurated by May 31.

The announcement was made by a bench of Justice Madan B. Lokur and Justice Deepak Gupta.

"We will wait till May 31, otherwise it will be open to public. Delay in opening is certainly not in the interest of public," said the bench.

During the hearing, counsel appearing for the the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) told the court that it has written to the Prime Minister's Office for the inauguration and was waiting for a response.

The expressway was scheduled to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 29 but it could not be done due to his prior commitments, the NHAI told the court.

The Eastern Peripheral Expressway envisages signal-free connectivity between Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gautam Budh Nagar (Greater Noida) and Palwal.

The counsel appearing for the Haryana government told the bench that work on the Western Peripheral Expressway will be completed by June 30.

The 135-km long Western Peripheral Expressway connects Kundli to Palwal via Manesar in Haryana.

The two expressways were planned in 2006 following the apex court's order to build a ring road outside the national capital for channelling non-Delhi bound traffic bypassing the city.

--IANS

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