Haryana Cabinet on Tuesday approved the Panchgram Development Bill, 2018 for developing five new cities over an area of 50,000 hectares on each side of the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) expressway. Panchgram Development Authority will be constituted as the Apex Body for policy making, development and regulation for the development of Panchgram Region.

The cabinet approved the concept of the Panchgram Region and developing five cities on the Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) expressway on 50,000 hectares each side of the expressway which would cover eight districts of the state namely Sonipat, Rohtak, Jhajjar, Gurugram, Rewari, Mewat, Faridabad and Palwal. While the entire vacant area between the KMP expressway and Delhi has been included in the cities, the area on the outer side varies depending on the development potential, said an official spokesman.

He said that the  Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation(HSIIDC) has initiated the process for hiring a world class consultancy firm through a global tender for undertaking the master plan.

Urbanization of the region along the KMP e-way is inevitable. It is estimated that around 50 per cent of the total population of India will be residing in urban areas by 2050. In case of Haryana, urban population will reach 50 per cent mark before 2040, he said.

The cabinet also approved the collection of toll on 6-lane Kundli-Manesar section of Kundli-Manesar-Palwal expressway project.

The work on the Kundli-Manesar section is likely to be completed by October 31 and the toll on this section is to be levied immediately after actual completion of the work, the spokesman said.

The toll points on which the toll fee will be levied initially included toll plaza at village Abbaspur and village Pipli in Sonipat district, at village Mandhoti and village Badli in district Jhajjar and at villages namely Sultanpur, Patli-Hazipur and Mokalwas/Fazliwas in district Gurugram, he added.