New Delhi: Despite several attempts, the revamped thoroughfare in Chandni Chowk remains in poor condition due to a lack of inter-departmental coordination.
In Oct, a meeting headed by the managing director of Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation (SRDC) identified the problems on the road and delegated duties to all the stakeholders involved. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi and Public Works Department were given the responsibility of keeping the road clean and maintaining the infrastructure. According to local traders, this work has not been done since Oct.
On Friday, Delhi High Court pulled up MCD, PWD and Delhi Police for the ‘shocking' situation on the revamped Chandni Chowk main road, saying there was garbage and filth lying everywhere. The court was examining a public interest litigation filed by the Chandni Chowk Sarv Vyapar Mandal, the market association
"The agencies involved have failed to fix the problems related to the upkeep of this stretch, as discussed in earlier meetings. While the sweeping work has to be done by MCD, maintenance was PWD's responsibility. Both the bodies are doing nothing," alleged Sanjay Bhargava of the Chandni Chowk Sarv Vyapar Mandal. "Several steps were discussed to fix the problems on the road, but nothing has moved forward. We thank the court, however, for the intervention."
The once-revitalised Chandni Chowk main road, inaugurated in Sept 2021, now stands in stark contrast to its glory just three years ago. It has suffered because the agencies involved are not working together. The revamp work was carried out by PWD and maintained for two years through a facility management company, which took care of basic cleaning and housekeeping issues. However, since the beginning of this year, PWD has withdrawn its presence citing financial constraints and asked MCD to clean the road as sanitation is its primary duty. The discussion on this went on for several days even as the garbage started piling up.
Earlier this month, PWD wrote to SRDC, asking it to direct MCD to undertake deep cleaning work and maintenance of the bollards installed as part of the redevelopment work on the main Chandni Chowk Road. In the meeting in Oct, the managing director of SRDC directed PWD to take care of the bollards. PWD requested MCD to carry out the regular cleaning of stormwater drains running under the footpath too. MCD is yet to respond to PWD's request.
The road has faced problems pertaining to sanitation and maintenance for the past year after the tussle between PWD and MCD on the responsibility for the road.