Work of alternative route for Daultabad Fort-Khuldabad to begin soon

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The next hearing on the progress work of an alternative route from Daultabad Fort to Khuldabad will be conducted in the Aurangabad bench of Bombay High Court on October 24.

The work of a 3.5 km alternative route will commence soon to reduce the traffic congestion in front of the fort and conserve and preserve the Daultabad gate and protective wall around it.

The Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the alternate route was submitted by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) to the HC bench on June 5, 2024.

Religious and tourist places like Ellora, Mhaismal, and Khuldabad have a large number of national and foreign tourists along with local citizens.

It was explained before the bench comprising Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Y G Khobragade that action would be taken on hearing the suggestions and objections received by the NHAI after sanctioning the funds for the joint measurement.

The court took suo moto notice of the news published in the media about the traffic jam in front of Daultabad Fort. Adv Neha Kamble was appointed as 'Amicus Curiae.' Adv Bhushan Kulkarni is represented by the Central Government.

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60 pc land of govt, 40 pc pvt land

The 3.5 km alternative route will be constructed from outside without causing any damage to the Daultabad Fort gate and the protective wall around the fort. The bench has set a deadline for this work. As per the new option, 60 per cent of the land would belong to the government and only 40 per cent of private land would have to be acquired. Objections and suggestions were sought regarding the land acquisition.

The objections of 25 property owners were heard and finalised. All the objections were rejected.

Additional public prosecutor Subhash Tambe informed the court on Friday said that after the government makes funds available, a joint measurement would be carried out through the NHAI, Public Works Department of the State and Deputy Superintendent of Land Records.