Ahmedabad: Commuters between Ahmedabad and Saurashtra, long plagued by heavy traffic jams and delays at Sanathal Junction, may soon find relief as a long-standing land dispute between Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has been resolved. This breakthrough has revived the much-delayed expansion of the Ahmedabad-Bavla-Bagodara National Highway, with AMC set to earn ₹209.58 crore from the land transfer.

According to a news report, the resolution of the dispute a month and a half ago enabled AMC to hand over 20,958 sq m of land from two service roads under its TP schemes to NHAI. This move will facilitate highway expansion and ease congestion. The land price was fixed at ₹1 lakh per sq m during a recent Auda Land Price Fixing Committee meeting, and AMC is expected to issue a demand letter to NHAI for the payment soon.

The project involves widening the highway section from Ujala Circle to Navapura in Sarkhej from 45m to 70m to include service lanes and an extradosed bridge, which had been stalled due to the dispute. The stretch, part of the SP Ring Road encircling Ahmedabad, required land from AMC’s TP schemes, delaying construction until AMC’s approval earlier this year. DeshGujarat