A bridge too far: 180 MT of steel bars from project that never took off to go as scrap for Rs 22 per kg

NEW DELHI: After a decade in the making and nowhere near completion, the steel to be used for the railway bridge at Sultanpuri is now headed for the scrap dealer. The Rs 22 per kg that the North Delhi Municipal Corporation hopes to get for the scrapped steel bars will offset some of the loss incurred because the contractor abandoned the project after interminable delays, legal hurdles and cost escalations.
“Around 184.5 tonnes of steel bars are lying at the site, where work began in 2008. These have turned into scrap and we will auction them under Section 200 of Delhi Municipal Corporation Act to recover at least Rs 40 lakh,” a senior corporation official disclosed. The standing committee of the civic body has cleared the sale.



“We are fighting the old contractor legally,” the official added. “He had taken an advance of Rs 1.6 crore and then unilaterally abandoned the project after completing just 23% of the work.”

Civic officials claimed that a new contractor had been hired and the revised cost put at Rs 41.9 crore. And although construction apparently resumed four months ago, the leaden pace does not inspire the resident’s confidence.

Jayendra Dabas, leader of the House in the civic body, assured an early completion of the project although he refused to specify a deadline. Once constructed, the railway overbridge/underbridge twin junction will connect Sultanpuri with Nangloi and Rohtak Road, finally linking the area with the rest of the city via a road connection.



Thousands of residents, including children who attend school on the Nangloi side of the divide, currently risk accidents in crossing the train tracks to access civic amenities on the other side.

Just last week, police recovered the mutilated body of a man, allegedly intoxicated, who was crossing the railway lines when his bike got struck on the tracks.

Residents complained that since the stalled work restarted, the accessibility problem has been compounded. “Of the four bridge approaches to the area, two near Sanjay Gandhi Hospital and the fish market have been closed to facilitate construction,” pointed out Sumit Kaushik. “The one at Majra is always jammed. So, ambulances and fire tenders cannot reach this place even in emergencies.”