The last leg of the Western Peripheral Expressway, also known as Kundli-Manesar-Pawal (KMP) Expressway, was launched by the Prime Minister in November last year. The entire 135km highway was opened to the commuters in phases spread over two years.The 52.3km Manesar-Palwal section was opened in April 2016. But there are no petrol pumps , food joints or restrooms on the entire highway. Even the FASTag facility is not yet operational, despite around 30,000 vehicles crossing the highway daily. In comparison, the Eastern Peripheral Expressway that was launched in May 2018 has all these basic facilities from the beginning.The plan was to develop the facilities after the entire expressway became operational. However, it has been over two months since the remaining stretch between Kundli and Manesar opened to the public in mid-November, but no progress has been made in this regard. There are four designated sites each for petrol pumps and food plazas on the stretch and Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC) has floated tenders for the purpose, but work is yet to begin at the ground level.The lack of basic facilities is now resulting in lesser people opting for this highway. Sources revealed that traffic volume has reduced since tolling was introduced in mid-December. The reason: a majority of heavy vehicles and small vehicles have shifted to FASTags since demonetisation in November 2016. But surprisingly, KMP, which was inaugurated after that, still has not introduced the provision. The queues and hassle of dealing in cash is discouraging truckers to use this highway, sources said.Besides this, only about 50% of the entire highway has been illuminated, increasing the risk of accidents and security concerns during night hours. This lack of basic facilities is disappointing considering that the state government plans to build five new cities along both sides of the expressway, comprising industrial, economic, commercial and residential areas.Meanwhile, HSIIDC officials said they still have a month’s time to provide all facilities. “As per the contract, we have time till four months of the opening of the expressway to provide requisite infrastructure. Around 50% of the services have been made avaliable on the highway. The remaining will take some time and we are working on these in phases. While, fuel stations and food plazas will be functional by April, streetlights and FASTag facilities are to be provided by the concessionaire. We have already asked them to work on it,” said a senior HSIIDC official.

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