Noida: A lifeline for intercity travel since its inauguration in January 2001, the 9.2 km Delhi-Noida-Direct (dnd) The flyway no longer resembles the showpiece infrastructure project it was built for.
A hazy shadow of its former self, it has met the fate of many Indian roads: rough surfaces and pothole patches, damaged signboards, poor street lights in places, absent road signs on others and garbage collecting with shoulders.
Noida resident Rakesh Jha, who regularly takes DND to Delhi, wonders why the potholes on the road are not filled immediately. He said the ride has become bumpy at the Delhi entry of the flyway near the toll plaza and intermittently at other places. Jha has also been regularly tweeting about non-functioning of toilets and street lights along DND.
The situation in DND took Avnish Kumar, a resident of Sector 71 (Noida) by surprise, when he resumed going to office after a pandemic-induced work-from-home break. “I have been living in Noida for 25 years and commute to and from Delhi, but I have never seen DND flyway in such condition. Take streetlights for example. Some parts between Noida and old toll shed But as you move towards Delhi, I think most are incomplete. Don’t understand why they are not working?” He asked.
Surbhi ChandelA college student living in Noida said a well-lit road would be more reassuring for a two-wheeler rider like her, as would the presence of an ambulance and a police patrol vehicle, especially at night when the traffic moves at high speed. . “Driving on the DND is like never before, especially for people like me who take the flyway late,” Chandel said.
Brajesh Sharma, a resident of Antriksh Golf View 2 in Sector 78, who filed a complaint with the Noida authority about DND’s bad street lights, said: “About nine months ago, some lights were fixed. But many of these again not functional.” Sharma pointed to the hoardings and banners that are conspicuous throughout the DND section. “So, how can one say that there is no revenue coming in? The money that is coming is not going to the maintenance of the road?” They said.
The Noida Toll Bridge Company Limited (NTBCL), which is the custodian of DND, earns advertising revenue from advertisements on billboards and gantry along the DND, which is under the jurisdiction of the Noida Authority, South Delhi Municipal Corporation and. East Delhi Municipal Corporation. Noida Authority has now stopped giving it space NTBCL Due to disagreement on payment of license fee and recovery notice. NTBCL did not share the details of revenue earned from advertisements of the two corporations of Delhi.
But problems started for DND in October 2016 after the toll collection from commuters was stopped following directions from the Supreme Court and the Allahabad High Court.
The DND toll was scrapped by the high court, which heard a plea by FONRWA, a group of Noida-based residents’ welfare associations, against the “excessive” user fee being charged to commuters (Rs 25, a car The only way for) ) and ruled in his favor.
Its parent company’s financial troubles have also affected NTBCL, a special purpose vehicle launched by infrastructure giant IL&FS. DND was envisioned to be run under the Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) model in the concession agreement signed between the Noida Authority, IL&FS and NTBCL in 1997. IL&FS was responsible for all investments in the project and the agreement awarded to NTBCL. Control of DND for 30 years from the date of contract or till IL&FS recovers its entire investment. NTBCL argued that it was not able to recover its costs, but the court, which perused the audit report of its income, rejected that argument.
Not paying toll was a relief for commuters but no roadmap for maintenance of DND was discussed. NP Singh, former president of FONRWA, said that when the court directed that toll collection by NTBCL be terminated at DND, he did not comment on the maintenance of the bridge.
“Therefore, it is the responsibility of the Noida Authority and the Delhi government to undertake the maintenance work on the DND flyway through NTBCL. We will write to both the state governments on this issue,” Singh said. In addition, most major roads are in need of major repairs and safety audits after 20 years of operation. No such exercise has been done for DND so far.
Noida Authority CEO Ritu Maheshwari He said the “Delhi portion” of the flyway had problems such as potholes, bad street lights and broken railings. “We had written to our Delhi counterpart to start work on the same. They have started filling the potholes,” she told TOI.
When asked about the lack of maintenance, Maheshwari said that NTBCL had filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the High Court order stopping toll collection. He said, “The matter is still going on in the Supreme Court. The toll bridge company is not doing any work at the moment. Several notices have been sent. At present, the work of repair of the pit is being done by the local administration.”
In an emailed response, NTBCL, however, told TOI that “Operation and Maintenance (O&M) obligations of the Noida Toll Bridge (including landscaping, safety, cleaning, minor repairs, pit repairs and electrical repairs) have been diligently carried out.” being done, the collection of user charges by the Company regularly and efficiently has been suspended since October 2016 and the Government of UP and NOIDA is defaulting in its obligations under the Concession Agreement due to change in law and ( d) The Authority is seeking unilateral denial of advertisement revenue of DND and obstructing and interfering with the revenue of NTBCL”.
The company claimed that the work was “reviewed from time to time by an independent engineer”, hired jointly by the lenders, Noida and NTBCL under a concession agreement, and monthly reports were submitted to the authority. “The October report has already been submitted to the Authority and the report does not show any complaints or concerns regarding O&M obligations,” it said.
NTBCL said it could not comment on its appeal on the High Court judgment and issues related to undertaking and financing of major maintenance as they were sub-judice. “It may be pointed out that despite the lack of support from the Government of Noida, Government of UP and NCT of Delhi, NTBCL has not delayed or defaulted any license fee, timely utility and O&M payments to EDMC and SDMC , and continues to support the maintenance of the bridge in a timely and efficient manner,” it said.
A hazy shadow of its former self, it has met the fate of many Indian roads: rough surfaces and pothole patches, damaged signboards, poor street lights in places, absent road signs on others and garbage collecting with shoulders.
Noida resident Rakesh Jha, who regularly takes DND to Delhi, wonders why the potholes on the road are not filled immediately. He said the ride has become bumpy at the Delhi entry of the flyway near the toll plaza and intermittently at other places. Jha has also been regularly tweeting about non-functioning of toilets and street lights along DND.
The situation in DND took Avnish Kumar, a resident of Sector 71 (Noida) by surprise, when he resumed going to office after a pandemic-induced work-from-home break. “I have been living in Noida for 25 years and commute to and from Delhi, but I have never seen DND flyway in such condition. Take streetlights for example. Some parts between Noida and old toll shed But as you move towards Delhi, I think most are incomplete. Don’t understand why they are not working?” He asked.
Surbhi ChandelA college student living in Noida said a well-lit road would be more reassuring for a two-wheeler rider like her, as would the presence of an ambulance and a police patrol vehicle, especially at night when the traffic moves at high speed. . “Driving on the DND is like never before, especially for people like me who take the flyway late,” Chandel said.
Brajesh Sharma, a resident of Antriksh Golf View 2 in Sector 78, who filed a complaint with the Noida authority about DND’s bad street lights, said: “About nine months ago, some lights were fixed. But many of these again not functional.” Sharma pointed to the hoardings and banners that are conspicuous throughout the DND section. “So, how can one say that there is no revenue coming in? The money that is coming is not going to the maintenance of the road?” They said.
The Noida Toll Bridge Company Limited (NTBCL), which is the custodian of DND, earns advertising revenue from advertisements on billboards and gantry along the DND, which is under the jurisdiction of the Noida Authority, South Delhi Municipal Corporation and. East Delhi Municipal Corporation. Noida Authority has now stopped giving it space NTBCL Due to disagreement on payment of license fee and recovery notice. NTBCL did not share the details of revenue earned from advertisements of the two corporations of Delhi.
But problems started for DND in October 2016 after the toll collection from commuters was stopped following directions from the Supreme Court and the Allahabad High Court.
The DND toll was scrapped by the high court, which heard a plea by FONRWA, a group of Noida-based residents’ welfare associations, against the “excessive” user fee being charged to commuters (Rs 25, a car The only way for) ) and ruled in his favor.
Its parent company’s financial troubles have also affected NTBCL, a special purpose vehicle launched by infrastructure giant IL&FS. DND was envisioned to be run under the Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) model in the concession agreement signed between the Noida Authority, IL&FS and NTBCL in 1997. IL&FS was responsible for all investments in the project and the agreement awarded to NTBCL. Control of DND for 30 years from the date of contract or till IL&FS recovers its entire investment. NTBCL argued that it was not able to recover its costs, but the court, which perused the audit report of its income, rejected that argument.
Not paying toll was a relief for commuters but no roadmap for maintenance of DND was discussed. NP Singh, former president of FONRWA, said that when the court directed that toll collection by NTBCL be terminated at DND, he did not comment on the maintenance of the bridge.
“Therefore, it is the responsibility of the Noida Authority and the Delhi government to undertake the maintenance work on the DND flyway through NTBCL. We will write to both the state governments on this issue,” Singh said. In addition, most major roads are in need of major repairs and safety audits after 20 years of operation. No such exercise has been done for DND so far.
Noida Authority CEO Ritu Maheshwari He said the “Delhi portion” of the flyway had problems such as potholes, bad street lights and broken railings. “We had written to our Delhi counterpart to start work on the same. They have started filling the potholes,” she told TOI.
When asked about the lack of maintenance, Maheshwari said that NTBCL had filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the High Court order stopping toll collection. He said, “The matter is still going on in the Supreme Court. The toll bridge company is not doing any work at the moment. Several notices have been sent. At present, the work of repair of the pit is being done by the local administration.”
In an emailed response, NTBCL, however, told TOI that “Operation and Maintenance (O&M) obligations of the Noida Toll Bridge (including landscaping, safety, cleaning, minor repairs, pit repairs and electrical repairs) have been diligently carried out.” being done, the collection of user charges by the Company regularly and efficiently has been suspended since October 2016 and the Government of UP and NOIDA is defaulting in its obligations under the Concession Agreement due to change in law and ( d) The Authority is seeking unilateral denial of advertisement revenue of DND and obstructing and interfering with the revenue of NTBCL”.
The company claimed that the work was “reviewed from time to time by an independent engineer”, hired jointly by the lenders, Noida and NTBCL under a concession agreement, and monthly reports were submitted to the authority. “The October report has already been submitted to the Authority and the report does not show any complaints or concerns regarding O&M obligations,” it said.
NTBCL said it could not comment on its appeal on the High Court judgment and issues related to undertaking and financing of major maintenance as they were sub-judice. “It may be pointed out that despite the lack of support from the Government of Noida, Government of UP and NCT of Delhi, NTBCL has not delayed or defaulted any license fee, timely utility and O&M payments to EDMC and SDMC , and continues to support the maintenance of the bridge in a timely and efficient manner,” it said.
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