Toll plaza row on Delhi-Gurgaon Expway to be settled in a week

The NHAI and Delhi-Gurgaon Super Connectivity Ltd (DGSCL) today sought one more week's time from the Delhi High Court for amicably settling their dispute over toll plazas at Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway here.
"We have arrived on a consensus on almost 90 per cent of contentious issues. The consent order is almost ready. Please grant one more week," one of the lawyers representing DGSCL told Justice Manmohan Singh.
The court has now fixed February 12 for recording the terms of the consent order in the case in which parties like Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC), the lead financier for the toll project of DGSCL, the MCD and Haryana also joined in.

During the hearing, IDFC said a final proposal has been prepared by the NHAI and all parties were hopeful about reaching a consensus on it within a week.
NHAI and DGSCL have been embroiled in a bitter legal battle ever since the former issued a termination notice to the latter over frequent complaints of inordinate delays at the toll plaza.
NHAI also found irregularities in the manner in which the DGSCL raised loans from IDFC and other financial institutions.

The resolution of the dispute would pave the way for removal of the toll plaza at Sirhaul on the expressway.
Earlier, the court was also informed that the earlier proposal of constructing a single toll plaza at 61km was not accepted by the government and the same will now be restricted to a single toll plaza at 42km.

IDFC had also submitted a proposal that the senior lenders were agreeable to substituting DGSCL, the concessionaire, as NHAI had earlier recognized a debt of Rs 1,275 crore on the latter.
The fresh proposal also stated that since DGSCL had in a letter on January 10 communicated its intention to withdraw all claims against NHAI, "the senior lenders are agreeable to taking on the obligations set out in the MoU dated September 18, 2009".
The court was also informed about the broad, in-principle understanding reached between IDFC and the DGSCL in connection with the project.