End of the road for FNG expressway?

The future of the Faridabad-Noida-Ghaziabad (FNG) expressway is in limbo due to massive encroachment along its route at various places in Noida. Even as work on the project started 20 years ago, only half the work has been done.

All efforts by authorities to complete the key project have proved futile as squatters have refused to vacate the land along its route. Even Noida Authority (NA) was forced to announce construction of an elevated stretch near Chhijarsi region after failing to reclaim land from encroachers.

The FNG, which begins from Faridabad in Haryana, will connect Ghaziabad via Noida directly and around 95 per cent of this 17 km long road falls in Noida city alone, but Noida Authority has still not acquired land at several places. Rampant encroachments on FNG land can easily been seen at places like Chhijarsi, Gadhi, Chaukhandi, Chotpur, Bahlolpur, and other regions. Squatters have rigged up constructions along the way and are reluctant to leave. They have moved Allahabad High Court to stop Noida Authority from constructing the road.

The encroachers claim that they cannot be forcibly removed as they have been living there for several years and the land is the prime source of livelihood.

“If they (NA) are really serious about the project, they should have properly compensated us. They were silent for years and now they want to evict us from the region when thousands of constructions have already taken place along the route of the proposed FNG,” bemoaned a villager of Bahlolpur. Meanwhile, Authority officials say that they cannot wait any longer since the cost of the project is escalating due to delay. “Since this is a key infrastructure project, we are trying to complete it at the earliest. We have given notices to encroachers since the High Court has not issued a stay order on our anti-encroachment drive. We will soon initiate penal action against them if they do not budge,” said PK Aggarwal, Additional CEO, Noida Authority. 

The project was announced 20 years back to connect Faridabad-Noida-Ghaziabad but was stalled by the Haryana Government in the year 1998. As per initial plan, the corridor was to be 56 km long and was to connect NH-24 near Ghaziabad and NH-2 but it was scuttled to 17 km. Around 16 km of the corridor falls under the jurisdiction of Noida Authority.

Once the project is completed, commuters can reach both cities in half an hour without entering the Capital and the busy parts of Noida. The

e-way begins at Chhijarsi village near NH-24 and passes through Sectors 142, 143B, 146 and 167, 168 along the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway to end at Assdullapur village near

Sector 168.