Redesigning of seven major Delhi roads to be completed by March 2021: CM Arvind Kejriwal

NNEW DELHI: The redesigning of seven major roads which include the congested Vikas Marg, Moolchand to Ashram Chowk, Brittania Chowk of the national capital on the lines of European roads will be completed by March 2021, said CM Arvind Kejriwal. These seven roads were chosen on a pilot basis for the Delhi government’s streetscaping and redevelopment project.

The re-designing of these roads were expected to be completed by December 2020 but due to Covid-19, the process got delayed and the new deadline has been set for March 2021. Kejriwal also held a review meeting with the Public Works Department (PWD) on the ongoing road redesigning project in Delhi along the lines of European cities.

Apart from these seven roads, the Aam Aadmi Party is also looking to re-develop 500 km of 100 feet wide roads across the national capital in accordance to the standards of European roads. 

“The process of appointing a consultant for the redesigning of 500 km roads is in the final stage and the PWD should complete the appointment process soon. The project will follow the Build–Operate– Transfer (BOT) model, the constitution company will have the responsibility to maintain the road for 15 years,” said Kejriwal. 

The pilot project proposed by PWD was approved in November 2019. Further, PWD has also issued tenders for consultancy for the re-designing of 500 km of roads. The redevelopment of Chandni Chowk road is one example of this scheme.

Under the project, the roads in the national capital facing issues such as lack of space for footpaths, pedestrians and parking issues will be solved. Addressign these will also create lesser traffic congestions. 

“Currently, the roads in the city see wide roads leading to narrow ones. This creates a bottleneck situation and heavy traffic at particular locations. The priority will be removing those bottlenecks first, for a smooth flow of traffic and an organised lane system,” said the CM.