The Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG) has begun work on converting two busy roads into “model” roads, officials said on Saturday.

Work has begun on the Hero Honda Chowk-HUDA City Centre (HCC) stretch via Subhash Chowk, and the Rajiv Chowk-Railway Station stretch (along Old Railway Road) simultaneously.

The MCG had, in November last year, shortlisted five roads for the project — the Hero Honda Chowk-HCC stretch via Subhash Chowk, Rajiv Chowk-Railway Station (along Old Railway Road), New Railway road, Mahavir Chowk to IFFCO Chowk, and the Sector 4/9-9A dividing road.

As part of the project, the MCG will fix the roads, construct pavements, build public toilets, install benches, fencing, CCTV cameras, LED streetlights, create green belts, and remove existing encroachments, among other work.

MCG commissioner Yashpal Yadav had termed model roads as stretches that are free of potholes and encroachments, which are pedestrian-friendly, with abundant parking spaces, pavements, benches and green belts.

“Fencing- and horticulture-related work has been started on the two stretches on a large scale, while some of the other initiatives are also being executed gradually. The MCG is undertaking the project in phases, and the five stretches have been divided among various officials for better supervision,” Ajay Nirala, nodal officer for the project, said.

Although no official deadline has been set for the project, officials said it is likely to be completed by November.

Officials added that barring work on fixing potholes, traffic is unlikely to be majorly hampered because the rest of the work is to take place on the sides of the roads. Officials also said the roads will only be cleaned after midnight and before 5am, when traffic on the stretches is comparatively lower than the rest of the day.

Officials said that last month accumulated dust at the 11-km Hero Honda Chowk-HCC stretch, and the six-km Rajiv Chowk-Gurgaon Railway Station stretch had been removed through sprinkling of water, footpaths were fixed, green belts established, waste lifted and cleared, and anti-encroachment drives carried out as part of a week-long cleanliness marathon.

Apart from the work done during the cleanliness drive, MCG officials also said they have begun work on creating green belts, placing benches, installing iron grilles, markings road and pavements, filling potholes on the carriageways, cleaning roads, and placing litter bins at adequate points.

Officials said that basic work, such as the one during the marathon, were also executed on the three stretches, and they are expecting to initiate large scale work at these points by next week.

According to officials, the five stretches were chosen to be made model roads because they are arterial stretches that witness the most traffic.

MCG officials said that since the necessary clearances for the project were received before the model code of conduct for the Lok Sabha elections were enforced, work on the five stretches will not be hampered.

First Published: Mar 17, 2019 03:34 IST