New Delhi: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday chaired a review meeting with senior cabinet minister Satyendra Jain and PWD officials on the status of the ongoing project of redesigning and streetscaping of 7 road stretches and 540 km of identified roads of Delhi along the lines of European cities. Work has started on the 35kms identified in different localities of Delhi and will be fully completed by the end of this year. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal directed the officials to expedite the process and remove all obstacles being faced in its completion, to ensure that the October 2021 target is met. Later in the day, CM also visited the Sriniwaspuri Ring Road and inspected the pilot project of redevelopment of the road.
Arvind Kejriwal reviewed the progress of all the roads under the project that are being developed on the lines of European cities, one by one during the review meeting. First, the Chief Minister reviewed the redesign work of those roads that are being beautified under the pilot project. PWD officials said that the work of redesign these roads is progressing rapidly.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said, "The process of designing the roads should be done in a swift manner and the project should be completed within the stipulated deadline, i.e., by 2023. The PWD should ensure the removal of all obstacles, the project needs to be completed in two years. The tender process and other formalities should be completed as soon as possible for rapid completion of the project."
The Chief Minister directed the officials to expedite the project and said that the redevelopment work of these roads should be completed within the time limit, on a priority basis. He instructed them to complete the tender process so that work can be completed within the stipulated time. The officials assured the Chief Minister that the tender process would be completed in the next one to two months and work would begin by the middle of this year. Officials also assured that the work of redesigning and developing the roads is expected to be completed by 2023. On this, the Chief Minister said that with a time limit fixed for the completion of the project, it should be completed within it.
At the same time, under the pilot project, considerable progress has been made on the 35km stretch. Redevelopment of about 5.5 km long road from Ring Road to Ashram has been completed. Redevelopment of about 6 km of road from Wazirpur Depot Crossing to Rithala Metro Station is ongoing. Work is also underway on a road of about 5.2 km from Britannia Chowk to Outer Ring Road in Pritampura's West Enclave area. Similarly, the work of beautification of 3.1 km long road from Shivdaspuri Marg to Patel Road, Moti Nagar t-Point to Pusa Road and Laxmi Nagar to Karkari Mor on Vikas Marg is underway. The redevelopment work area is to be completed by the end of this year.
Redesigning will overcome several problems
Redesigning roads will eliminate bottlenecks. Currently, a road turns from four lanes to three lanes or from six lanes to four lanes. This suddenly increases the pressure of vehicles at a place on the road and creates a bottleneck. After redesigning the roads, this problem will be eradicated. The space alongside the roads will be optimized. Sidewalks will be created, a separate segment for non-motor vehicles to pass from, the dimensions of the sidewalk will be increased from 5ft to 10ft for the better convenience of the disabled, and so on.
Green cover will be increased alongside the roads
Currently, there isn't much scope for greenery on the roads of Delhi. After redesigning the roads, there will be space for planting trees on the sidewalks and for creating green belts. A separate place and stand will be provided for autos and e-rickshaws. Road slopes and drains will be re-designed and re-constructed to overcome the problem of waterlogging. Re-harvesting systems will be installed inside the drains. Road slopes will be fixed so that rainwater can be recycled and stored as groundwater. Street furniture will be installed, grass and trees will be planted along the road and roads will be resurfaced.
No surface will be left unpaved or unescaped for dust control
Not an inch of the surface of any road or roadside will be left uncovered, in order to ensure that there is no dust on the roads. Adequate grasses and shrubs will be planted on all surfaces to ensure dust control. The increase in the green cover alongside the newly developed roads will reduce the pollution caused by dust.
The following facilities will be developed
- Parking for rickshaws
- Separate parking spaces
- Green Belt
- Open spaces for public
- Cycle lanes
- Pedestrian lanes
- Different types of designs will be displayed on the walls by the road
- If there is a park next to the road, it will not be covered by the walls, so that the beauty of the park can be visible from the road.
