The much-delayed redevelopment work in Connaught Place is proving to be Achilles’ heels for the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) and Engineers India limited (EIl) as it has miserably failed to meet the deadline of the project on six occasions. The new deadline has been fixed as June 30. Earlier, the NDMC has announced that the redevelopment work would be completed by May 31 now it has been extended once again till June 30. The extension of cut-off date has left traders, officer goers, visitor and shoppers fuming.
The NDMC had already missed six deadlines on this project. Top sources told The Pioneer that the deadline is fixed June 30. Taking a serious note, Delhi Chief Secretary DM Spolia on Saturday inspected the redevelopment work of Connaught Place and reportedly expressed displeasure over slow pace of work.
The status report of redevelopment of Connaught Place reveals that escalators at KG Marg and Janpath subway is yet to be supplied at site and NDMC has started excavation of manhole but stopped after discussion with EIl while work on new subway at Gopal Dass building is behind schedule and phase work is still not completed while phase III is yet to be started. At several locations, equipments delivery is only 70-80 per cent.
In the middle circle, toilets, garbage station, footpath is not complete. On outer circle, development work at G, H, K, l, M blocks is 90 per cent complete while work at N block is just started. As far as façade work is concerned, the finishing work at C block rear side at one arch is left while finishing work at B block at two arches is yet to be taken up. The work on Regal building also going at slow pace.
“Instead of cracking the whip, the NDMC has only pushed the deadline further,” alleged shopkeepers at Connaught Place. The traders are upset with inordinate delay, hampering their business.
Conceptualised to complete the project prior 2010 Commonwealth Games, the redevelopment work in Connaught Place has missed a many deadline. So much so that it has all set to extend another three months deadline despite that many projects which were the part of the original plan has been shelved.
A proposal to this effect will be put up before the council’s next meeting for approval. The continuous delays and alleged poor contract management has caused the project cost to go up from Rs 76 crore in 2005 to Rs 671 crore in 2007. It is noted that to complete the redevelopment project, NDMC has dropped plans of constructing four subways, common cooling plant and underground parking from the original redevelopment plan of the Connaught Place.
The redevelopment of Connaught Place is a story of missed deadlines and escalating costs. It began in 2005 when every development agency such as the DDA, MCD, PWD etc, was asked to submit their ideas for development of the Capital in the run-up to the 2010 Commonwealth Games (CWG). Touted as a showcase project, the Connaught Place redevelopment project involved restoring the market to its original grandeur when it was inaugurated in 1935. Work began in May 2009 with an eye on the CWG. Since then, several deadlines have been set and missed by the NDMC.