NDMC to take over maintenance of Central Vista roads

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) will now take over the maintenance of major roads in the Central Vista area, including Janpath, Rafi Marg and Man Singh Road, from the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), according to officials.

An order issued by the Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry on August 7 said the NDMC would be responsible for the upkeep, resurfacing, cleaning and other municipal works on the roads, while Kartavya Path would continue to be maintained by the CPWD.

The move changes an arrangement that had been in place since March 2007, when the maintenance of roads in the Central Vista area was transferred from the NDMC to the CPWD through a 2006 ministry order, officials said.

According to officials, the move marks a shift towards a more localised system of civic management in Lutyens’ Delhi, with the council taking over the upkeep of roads in the Central Vista area from the CPWD, except Kartavya Path.

“The arrangement will bring road maintenance, cleaning, sweeping and other civic works under the NDMC, which already manages utilities, drainage and street lighting in the area. The CPWD will continue to be responsible for the ceremonial stretch of Kartavya Path,” an official said.

The handover will bring the maintenance of the prominent stretches back under the civic body’s existing road network in Lutyens’ Delhi.

The NDMC currently manages about 1,280 km of roads, along with 372 km of footpaths, 52 major rotaries, 16 subways, three underpasses and two flyovers, according to official civic data.

With the addition of the Central Vista stretches, road repairs and routine upkeep of the key avenues will now be handled through the NDMC’s road maintenance system, officials added.