Streetscaping of 540 km of roads in Delhi: PWD appoints 9 consultants for project

The Public Works Department (PWD) has appointed nine consultants for the Delhi government’s ambitious streetscaping project of 540 km of roads, comprising 250 stretches, across the city. The tendering process for the ‘Redeveloping, Streetscaping and Beautification’ project will start by June-July this year, said officials.

The PWD is planning to execute the work under the ‘Hybrid Annuity Mode’ for the first time, said officials. Under this, the government will pay 60% of the total amount to the agency as soon as it is entitled for payment. The balance amount will be made on a hybrid annual mode in 30 bi-annual installments, including interest.

These agencies will also take care of maintenance work of these redeveloped roads and functionalities for 15 years.
The main aim of the project is to redevelop roads with right of way of 30 m or above on European standards and make them safe for pedestrians and sustainable. The focus is to achieve a balance between movement of pedestrians, cyclists, and transit vehicles.

A senior PWD official said, “PWD has appointed nine consultants through nine packages. These consultants will advise the department on streetscaping, including beautification and better applicability of roads to all users.”

The consultants will study the traffic pattern, analyse the data, and come up with a solution which emphasises on innovation, sustainability, and equitable space. “At many stretches, the road width is irregular and causes bottlenecks… there are places where there is space, but it is not utilised properly. Faulty roads are also reasons for accidents. As per the Centre for Science and Environment, Delhi tops the fatal accident list – the city records an average of five deaths due to road accidents per day,” said the official.

While working on the design, consultants will focus on ways to avoid fatal accidents, create more open space to ensure pedestrian safety, and use of more public transport.

“Each road in Delhi is different in design and density. Under this project, the PWD will work on proper alignment of roads; footpaths giving equal space to pedestrians, non-motorised vehicles… The roads will have dedicated cycle tracks with cycle stands, lanes for e-rickshaw and last-mile connectivity, street furniture, state-of-the-art bus stops, public libraries, artwork, rainwater harvesting systems, lighting, decorative illumination removing all dark spots, greenspaces, and other utilities like water cooler and toilets,” said the official.

The project was started on a pilot basis in 2019 on seven most congested stretches, but work slowed down due to the pandemic. Further, the department is also working on to streetscape nine more stretches at different parts of the city as a sample stretch.

“Presently, the PWD is working to redevelop these 16 congested stretches on a pilot basis as sample stretches and it will be ready by May-June. The same will be inspected by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. After reviewing the design and work, we will decide whether to replicate the same design on other stretches. After successful completion, tenders for the big project of 540 km will be issued,” said an official working on the project.

Officials said the preliminary estimate has been prepared for further approval and sanction. The estimated preliminary cost of this project is Rs 10,996 crore and target of completion is 2025.