New Delhi: Cash-strapped Delhi Government has been asked to pay Rs 100 crore by Uttar Pradesh to make the Upper Ganga expressway elevated on a stretch near Bhagirathi through which major pipelines supplying water to the national capital pass.
The proposed 170 km long Upper Ganga Canal Expressway will connect Greater Noida with Haridwar.
The UP government told Delhi that the expressway will have to be made elevated to ensure that water supply to Sonia Vihar Treatment Plant in the national capital does not get affected.
"The Uttar Pradesh Government told us to pay Rs 100 crore to make a portion of the Expressway elevated," Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta said.
The argument of the UP government for seeking the amount is that the portion of the expressway will have to be elevated only to ensure that water supply to Delhi is not
interrupted and so Delhi will have to pay the additional expenses.
Asked whether Delhi Government was ready to pay the amount, Mehta said the government was going through a difficult financial position because of the massive spending it has incurred in developing various infrastructure as part of preparation for the Commonwealth Games.
"We hope to settle the issue through dialogue," Mehta said avoiding a direct reply.
The irrigation department of the Uttar Pradesh government has already acquired land for the 170 km long expressway.
An agreement was signed earlier this year between the UP Expressway Industrial Development Authority and consultant ILFS Infrastructure Development Corporation for implementation of the project.
PTI
