Delhi Govt approves Rs 658 crore to strengthen 270 km roads
The Delhi Government has approved road strengthening projects worth Rs 657.99 crore covering 270.63 kilometres of roads across East, North, and South Delhi. The Chief Minister, Rekha Gupta, chaired the Expenditure Finance Committee meeting on Wednesday, where the projects were cleared. The Chief Minister also announced that Delhi will adopt a zone-wise composite tendering system for the first time, replacing the conventional road-wise tendering model. PWD Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh and other senior officials were present at the meeting.
The zone-wise breakdown of the approved projects is as follows: Rs 147.08 crore for strengthening 58.29 kilometres of roads in the East Maintenance Zone, Rs 247.31 crore for 104.42 kilometres in the North Maintenance Zone, and Rs 263.61 crore for 107.92 kilometres in the South Maintenance Zone.
The work to be carried out under each project includes cold milling, which involves removing the damaged upper layer of the existing road surface, followed by laying a Dense Bituminous Macadam base layer to strengthen the structure, and then a Bituminous Concrete top layer for a smooth, durable final surface. Additional work will include tack coat application between layers for bonding, road markings covering lane lines and zebra crossings, road furniture including signboards, reflectors, divider markers, and safety barriers, and kerb channels for rainwater drainage along roadsides.
On the zone-wise composite tendering system, the Chief Minister said the shift from the older road-by-road model will enable better use of modern machinery, more effective quality control, closer work monitoring, and clearer accountability for post-construction maintenance, compared to the fragmented approach of tendering individual roads separately.
All projects will carry a five-year Defect Liability Period. If a pothole develops on any strengthened road during this period, it must be repaired within 48 hours. Project progress will be tracked through the GSDL/DPMG portal, with geo-tagged photographs required before, during, and after execution. Independent quality audits will be conducted by CSIR-CRRI and the School of Planning and Architecture. The target for project completion is October 2026.
The projects have also been framed with explicit environmental objectives. Dust control and air quality standards will be strictly followed during construction, with tenders prepared in accordance with the framework prescribed by the Commission for Air Quality Management. The Chief Minister said better roads reduce dust pollution in addition to improving travel conditions, linking the infrastructure investment directly to Delhi’s ongoing air quality concerns.
The Rs 657.99 crore approval comes as part of a broader infrastructure push by the Delhi Government across roads, drainage, and public transport in the run-up to and through the monsoon season, a period when road surfaces in the capital typically suffer the most damage. The five-year defect liability provision and the 48-hour pothole repair commitment are particularly significant given that post-monsoon road deterioration and the slow pace of repair have historically been among the most common civic complaints in all three of the zones covered by Wednesday’s approval.
The zone-wise composite approach, if it delivers on the efficiency and accountability improvements the Government expects, could also change how Delhi’s PWD contracts future road work, with this round serving as the first practical test of the model.
