The high cost of land acquisition has cast a shadow over the proposed Greater Southern Peripheral Road (GSPR) project, to connect Delhi with the industrial area of Manesar. The proposed road was also supposed to reduce congestion on the Delhi-Gurgaon expressway.

The construction of GSPR was at the concept stage for past several years. The project gained pace in March 2016, but now, it could end up only on paper. At the Happening Haryana global investor's summit, industrialists had raised concern over the poor connectivity between Manesar, Delhi and Gurgaon, following which the government began exploring various options. At present, the only road between Manesar, Gurgaon and Delhi is NH-8.

In April 2016, meetings were held involving DTCP, Huda and NHAI, for the construction of GSPR. The Haryana government also took it up with the Delhi government. It was decided that Huda will acquire land for construction of the road and hand it over to NHAI.

But reeling under a financial crisis, Huda is not in any position to acquire the land, because of which the project has now been put on hold. "Land acquisition had started, but it was stayed following a court order. The land acquisition for the project would have huge financial implications," said Huda administrator Yashpal Yadav, adding they have asked NHAI to check the project's feasibility.

Huda is struggling to pay compensation to farmers whose land they acquired over the past several years. A Huda official said land acquisition cost far exceeds the cost of building the road. "Recently, Huda has acquired 100 acres against a compensation of Rs 700 crore, for construction of the Central Peripheral Road (CPR), which is now part of Dwarka Expressway. Compare this to the estimated cost of construction of the road, which is just Rs 20 crore," he said, adding that in Gurgaon alone, Huda has pay around Rs 11,000 crore to settle pending dues of land losers.

Huda is struggling to meet its daily expenditure, and relying on regular auction of plots to raise funds. "In this situation, it's very difficult for Huda to acquire land and pay huge compensation," said a Huda official.

The 40km-long GSPR was supposed to start from Mehrauli in Delhi and connect NH-8 near IMT in Manesar, via Sohna road. It was expected to reduce traffic load on the Gurgaon part of NH-8. At present, this stretch, also known as Delhi-Gurgaon expressway, is the only road connecting Delhi with Manesar. Due to heavy traffic, it regularly faces unending jams.