Huda claimed to have resolved the issue of a petrol pump obstructing the construction of an underpass on MG Road, stalling the work for almost a year now. After a meeting with HPCL on last Wednesday, Huda officials said the HPCL petrol pump would be shifted within a month and work on the underpass would be resumed at the earliest.

The L-shaped underpass on MG Road is being constructed by NHAI for traffic from Delhi to Huda City Centre via Iffco Chowk Metro station.

It is expected to decongest the road near Westin by providing an alternate route and ease traffic flow for tens of thousands of commuters of Gurgaon who want to go to Delhi via MG Road.

According to NHAI, the construction of the underpass has been suspended for almost a year as the petrol pump authorities have refused to shift their location. The petrol pump is located on MG Road between Iffco Chowk and Sikandarpur at a distance of only 250 metres from the site of construction of the underpass.

NHAI in November 2016 had written to Huda for removal of utility services such as underground water pipes, sewer lines and petrol pumps falling on the alignments of flyovers and U-shaped underpasses com-ing up at Rajiv Chowk, Signature Tower and Iffco Chowk junctions.

Huda estate officer Vivek Kalia said, "The issue has been sorted. Huda held a meeting with HPCL on Wednesday and we decided to resolve the issue amicably. The petrol pump will be shifted to a new location. We have given the owner land for a new petrol pump in Sector 25A. We will ensure that the petrol pump gets shifted to its new location in a smooth manner." The petrol pump will not be functional by the next week and will be dismantled and shifted over this month.

Sukhjit Mann, dealer of the petrol pump, said, "Huda is saying that they have given us a new location for the petrol pump but I haven't received any letter yet." There were protests against Huda, last year, after a shifting notice was issued to the petrol pump without making provisions for an alternative site.

However, Kalia assured, "In lieu of public utility, we have been giving this issue the highest priority. Now, a proposal for an alternate plot of land has been made. We have verbally informed the petrol pump authorities of the same. In principal, the allocation of land for the petrol pump has been approved. Everything is official and on paper. They will get a letter from us soon."

According to NHAI, the work on the underpass is 90% complete but is being held up on account of the petrol pump.

Ashok Sharma, project director, NHAI, said, "The underpass at this junction cannot be completed unless the petrol pump is shifted."

An NHAI official said it could not afford to change the design of the underpass at this stage. He added that if the petrol pump was shifted in a month, the underpass might be completed by December 31, this year, much ahead of the project deadline. NHAI had set May 2019 as the deadline for the completion of the underpass project.