NOIDA: A lifeline for intercity travel since its inauguration in January 2001, the 9.2 km Delhi-Noida-Direct (DND) flyway no longer looks like the showpiece infrastructure project that it was built upon.
A hazy shadow of its former self, it has met the fate of many Indian roads: patches of rough surfaces and pitdamaged signboard, defective Street lights at places, road markings absent at other places and Trash Gathering with shoulders.
Noida resident Rakesh Jha, who regularly takes DND to Delhi, wonders why 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 commuting to and from Delhi, but I have never seen DND flyway in such condition. Take streetlights, for example. Some are working on the section between Noida and the old toll shed, but as you move towards Delhi, I think most are incomplete. I don’t understand why they are not working?” He asked.
Surbhi Chandel, a 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 traffic is heavy. . “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 lodged a complaint with the Noida authority about DND’s bad street lights, said: “Around nine months ago, some lights were fixed. But many of these are not working again.” Sharma pointed to hoardings and banners that are conspicuous throughout the DND section. “So, how can one say that there is no revenue coming? The money that is coming. Is he 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 its place to NTBCL due to disagreement over 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 after the toll collection, the problems of DND started. passenger It was stayed in October 2016 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, that passengers were being charged “excessive” user fees (Rs 25, for 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 carry out the maintenance work on the DND Flyway through NTBCL. We will write to both the state governments on this issue. 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 has problems like potholes, bad street lights and broken railings. “We had written to our Delhi counterpart to start work on the same. They have started the work of filling the pits.
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. “The matter is still going on in the Supreme Court. Toll bridge company is not doing any work at present. Several notices have been sent. The pit repair work is currently being done by the local administration,” she said.
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.” Despite regular and efficient collection of user fee by the Company, it 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 advertising revenue to 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”, who was jointly appointed under the concession agreement by the lenders, Noida and NTBCL, and submitted monthly reports 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 lack of support from Government of Noida, UP Government and NCT 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 and construction 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: patches of rough surfaces and pitdamaged signboard, defective Street lights at places, road markings absent at other places and Trash Gathering with shoulders.
Noida resident Rakesh Jha, who regularly takes DND to Delhi, wonders why 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 commuting to and from Delhi, but I have never seen DND flyway in such condition. Take streetlights, for example. Some are working on the section between Noida and the old toll shed, but as you move towards Delhi, I think most are incomplete. I don’t understand why they are not working?” He asked.
Surbhi Chandel, a 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 traffic is heavy. . “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 lodged a complaint with the Noida authority about DND’s bad street lights, said: “Around nine months ago, some lights were fixed. But many of these are not working again.” Sharma pointed to hoardings and banners that are conspicuous throughout the DND section. “So, how can one say that there is no revenue coming? The money that is coming. Is he 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 its place to NTBCL due to disagreement over 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 after the toll collection, the problems of DND started. passenger It was stayed in October 2016 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, that passengers were being charged “excessive” user fees (Rs 25, for 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 carry out the maintenance work on the DND Flyway through NTBCL. We will write to both the state governments on this issue. 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 has problems like potholes, bad street lights and broken railings. “We had written to our Delhi counterpart to start work on the same. They have started the work of filling the pits.
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. “The matter is still going on in the Supreme Court. Toll bridge company is not doing any work at present. Several notices have been sent. The pit repair work is currently being done by the local administration,” she said.
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.” Despite regular and efficient collection of user fee by the Company, it 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 advertising revenue to 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”, who was jointly appointed under the concession agreement by the lenders, Noida and NTBCL, and submitted monthly reports 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 lack of support from Government of Noida, UP Government and NCT 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 and construction of the bridge in a timely and efficient manner,” it said.
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