GURUGRAM: There is no end in sight for the legal tussle over shifting the petrol pump at Iffco Chowk on MG Road to Sector 42, to make way for the Iffco Chowk underpass In a big blow to the underpass project, Punjab and Haryana high court, on July 6, dismissed Huda’s review petition, challenging the district sessions court order passed on May 4, that put a stay on the relocation of the fuel station.Saurabh Singhal, team leader and traffic transportation expert at NHAI project consultant Bloom Companies, said, “This is a big blow to the project. Till a new site is allotted by Huda, work on this site can’t resume. The underpass is 97% ready, except for the petrol pump area.”Meanwhile, officials at Gawar Construction said with the petrol pump relocation stalled, drains haven’t been connected properly.“Monsoon will be a big problem for the petrol pump and underpass, as drains in the area haven’t been linked with the main outlet,” said a Gawar official.The alternative plot allotted to the fuel station was originally earmarked for a taxi stand in the Master Plan. The owner of a neighbouring building — Ameya One — filed a petition before the district and sessions court on February 7, questioning Huda’s change of land use. In its July 6 order, the high court agreed with the petition, claiming the development authority did not follow rules for change of land use before allocating the alternative site to the petrol pump owner, Sukhjeet Mann.Earlier, in a letter dated March 7, NHAI had informed Haryana chief secretary Deepinder Singh Dhesi that delay in shifting the petrol pump had held up the project. It reminded the state government that the latter had assured NHAI could carry out the project without a hurdle while handing it over. “Under contract conditions, any further delay in handing over the site would result in financial contractual implications for NHAI,” the letter states. NHAI officials said, “The work can be completed within a month after the petrol pump is removed.” They added they will now take it up with their headquarters.Mann is willing to shift to a new site, so long as she finds it suitable. “I’m ready to move out, but I want an equivalent site. Verbally, they have indicated 2-3 other sites, but I can’t say more,” she said.

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