Facing flak over the extreme delay in completion of the Rs 600 crore-Connaught Place Redevelopment Project, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has now decided to remove the contractor —Engineers India limited (EIl). The phase out will be gradual from the commercial hub of the national Capital.
“The project should have been completed by 2010. But, now it seems to be a never-ending thing. The problem is that EIl took the work very causally. Now, we have decided to take charge on. We are going to remove the company from all the works in a phased manner and we will carry out the repairs and maintenance works ourselves. We are going to hire a new company for the overall maintenance of each and every facility in Connaught Place. There will be clearly defined deliverables along with penalty clauses,” said Jalaj Srivastava, NDMC chairperson.
It may be recalled that the project was scheduled for completion ahead of the Commonwealth Games in October 2010, but missing one deadline after another in the last three years EIl is yet to complete it. It may also be noted that Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in July had set a “final deadline” of September 30 for the project but the Government-owned company could not meet that deadline as well, as works on escalators, drains and floors are still going on.
“My biggest dream is to provide central air-conditioning to all buildings in Connaught Place. The AC machines jutting out of windows and placed on parapets make the buildings look ugly. We can have a centralised cooling system and cool air can be supplied through pipes in all buildings. We will hold a meeting of the council members after the elections to discuss it. We may require financial assistance under the JNNURM scheme,” the Chairperson further said.
Srivastava added that there is a need to change the mindset of people. “Car is not a necessity it is just a status symbol. One cannot expect to find surface parking for their vehicles every time. There are multistoried and underground parking lots at Baba Kharak Singh Marg and Palika Bazar, where parking slots are available all the time. But not many prefer to go there. I am a big fan of public transport. The city is now well-connected only because of public transport. last-mile-connectivity may be a problem at some places, but even that can be covered with auto-rickshaw and cycle rickshaws,” he said.
Talking about choked drains during Monsoon, the NDMC Chairperson said that one of the biggest reasons for choking of drains is construction debris and other waste material that find their way to the drains. “We are now planning to use the construction debris for making bricks. The Ministry of Urban Development has recently started a pilot project. We are also going to organise a workshop on November 8 and 9 to find the best available technology for this. We just need a small space to set up a plant to crush the debris and make bricks out of it.”
Srivastava said that NDMC had also provided a round-the-clock helpline where citizens can register their complaints, which he claimed are attended to immediately. “We have uploaded the map of NDMC area on our website. One can check the location of his house on the map and can find the name and contact number of the sanitation inspector,” he said.