Cases in the National Green Tribunal ( NGT) and back-to-back elections (Assembly and lok Sabha) in Delhi within a short span, has delayed the Rs 2,400 crore project to make signal-free road corridor from Vikaspuri to Wazirabad for a year.
The project, conceived one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in Delhi, is being executed at a slower-than-expected pace. The project is only 20 per cent complete till date due to court cases in the National Green Tribunal and implementation of the Model Code of Conduct. The delay is also likely to increase traffic woes well beyond the stipulated deadline of mid-2015.
Project engineer Sarvagya Srivastava told The Pioneer that the projects are running behind schedule due to court cases. ‘The project is only 20 per cent complete. In the normal course, it should be completed 35-40 percent in a year. Work on the three elevated corridors became victim to environmental issues. Due to certain court decisions we were not allowed to cut trees. Wherever we can carry on without felling trees, we do so. But this has affected the pace of work. Our deadline is May 2015. We are lagging behind, but are trying to catch up and hopeful of the completing maximum work within the deadline,” Srivastava said.
While work on all the four component — Vikaspuri-Meera Bagh elevated corridor; Mangolpuri-Madhuban Chowk elevated corridor; Madhuban Chowk to Mukarba Chowk elevated corridor and Mukarba Chowk to Wazirabad signal-free project that involves construction of four flyovers at traffic intersections — is on, they are running way behind schedule. According to PWD officials, around 20-22 per cent work has been completed on the Vikaspuri-Meera Bagh section, while around 18 per cent of construction work has been completed on the Mangolpuri-Madhuban Chowk project. Similarly, only 20 per cent of the work has been completed to date on the Madhuban Chowk to Mukarba Chowk elevated corridor, while 15 per cent of the project has been completed between Mukarba Chowk and Wazirabad. All four projects began in April last year.
The construction of the stretch was started in March 2013, by the Sheila Dikshit Government and was scheduled to be completed by May 2015 with an estimated cost of Rs 2,400 crore. The project was undertaken by the Public Works Department (PWD), to make the 17-km Vikaspuri-Wazirabad stretch signal-free. PWD officials say the road was being widened to meet traffic requirements. “But that got affected because of restrictions on cutting of trees. Initially, we planned some diversions for traffic, but that was not fruitful because trees were growing haphazardly on the stretch.”