Rani Jhansi flyover to miss March deadline as well

Rani Jhansi Grade Separator, supposed to be the panacea to end the woes of the commuters in Old and Central Delhi, is all set to miss its deadline once again. North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NMC) Mayor Preety Agarwal has declared that the 1.6 km long project will be thrown open for the people in March, 2018. However, the apathy and red-tapism of officials have led to further delay in commissioning of the project. Now a technical glitch in laying the road over the grade separator is being cited by the engineers for further delay.

This project was to be made operational before the 2010 Commonwealth Games but has not been completed till date.  According to sources, the project will take another four or five months to get completed.

“The work is slow due to the recently laid heavy segments that have not been settled. Lying of the road can begin only after it has fully settled. However, the beautification work under flyover is being carried out by horticulture department,” they said.

The North Mayor believes that the flyover will be opened for public in this month itself. “Our officials are working day and nights to get it completed before the deadlines. More than 25 per cent of works have been done in few months,” she said.

The project has missed several deadlines, leading to escalation of the cost by Rs 547 crore more than the estimated one. The cost of project originally was pegged at Rs 177 crore that further increased to Rs 724 crore. The project was conceived in 1998 but was commissioned by the erstwhile MCD in 2006. The construction work started in 2007. The agencies, responsible for removing bottlenecks, kept indulging in passing the buck for years instead of finding solutions, leading to the delay.

As of now the Rani Jhansi Grade Separator is 'never ending story'. The project that should have been opened for the public in 2010 remains incomplete in the third month of 2018.

It may be noted that the 1.6-km-long flyover from near St Stephen's Hospital to Filmistaan Cinema once completed would decongest several North Delhi areas. Vehicular movement towards ISBT, Kashmiri Gate, and Mori Gate and particularly of Shakti Nagar, Karol Bagh, Gulabi Bagh, Kamla Nagar, Sadar Bazar, Paharganj, Azad Market and surrounding areas would become smoother. It remains a dream for the locals who have been waiting since ages to see the light of the day.