Haryana: PM Modi inaugurates KMP expressway

Gurugram: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurates 83-km-long Kundli to Manesar section of Kundli-Manesar-Palwal (KMP) expressway here, on Monday.

The Prime Minister also inaugurated the Ballabhgarh Metro and laid the foundation stone for the Haryana Vishwakarma Skill University in Palwal.

The 135.6 km long Expressway is expected to divert more than 50,000 heavy vehicles away from Delhi. It will also provide an alternative route to vehicles to go towards Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, easing traffic flow of heavy vehicles and bettering air quality of Delhi by reducing air pollution.

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Prime Minister Modi in his inaugural speech accused UPA government for the delay in the completion of the project. He said that the expressway should have been ready a decade ago, during the Commonwealth Games, but due to corruption, it was delayed. He also accused UPA of "wasting people's money as the cost of construction escalated due to the delay."

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Some facts about KMP expressway:

#The six-lane expressway passes through five districts in Haryana: Sonipat, Jhajjar, Gurgaon, Mewat and Palwal.

#Five new cities over an area of 50,000 hectares are to be developed on each side of the KMP Expressway by Haryana government.

#It would connect four major national highways -- Delhi-Ambala-Amritsar, Delhi-Agra-Varanasi-Dankuni, Delhi-Jaipur-Ahmedabad-Mumbai and Delhi-Hisar-Fazilka-India-Pakistan border.

#The original completion deadline for the 135-km KMP Expressway was July 2009 but the project got mired in controversies and litigation.

#The initial cost of the project was Rs 1,915 crore but reached Rs 6,400 crore.

#The six-lane expressway will have parking lots, refilling stations, police stations, a trauma centre, helipad, refreshment centres, and recreational facilities.

The expressway, meant to divert heavy vehicles from Delhi to reduce pollution, has been built at a cost of

Rs. 6,400 crore

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