Kejriwal directs PWD officials to complete ongoing road redesigning projects by 2023
Jan 20, 2021
New Delhi [India], January 20 : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday chaired a review meeting with the Public Works Department (PWD) officials on the status of the ongoing projects of redesigning and streetscaping of 7 road stretches and 540 kms of identified roads of the national capital along the lines of European cities. He asked officials to complete the projects by 2023.
PWD Minister Satyendar Jain also attended the meeting.
According to the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) release, the agency entrusted with the task of construction will also be responsible for the maintenance of the roads for a period of 15 years.
"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. There should be no laxity in the completion," Kejriwal asked officials during the review meeting.
The Delhi government is working to redesign the 100 feet wide and 540 km long roads of the national capital on the lines of European cities.
Kejriwal has envisaged the project to develop the roads of the national capital, Delhi, similar to any developed country in the world and approved the project of redesigning some of the roads falling under the jurisdiction of PWD in November 2019.
"Under the pilot project, the Delhi government has decided to redesign 100 feet wide and 500 kilometers on the lines of European cities. CM Arvind Kejriwal recently redeveloped the Chandni chowk road as a pilot project, extending the scheme to 100 feet wide and about 500 km long road in Delhi. The development of these roads will be on the lines of the Built-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model and the construction company will take care of the maintenance for 15 years," the CMO release said.
The main objectives of the project will be removing bottlenecks from roads for a smooth flow of traffic and decongestion, encouraging the use of non-motorized vehicles, constructing disabled-friendly infrastructure, along ensuring efficient use of space alongside the road stretches.
The project will help in increasing greenery and the implementation of the re-harvesting system in the sewer drains.
"There will be separate spaces for the planting of trees on the sides of the footpaths. There will be separate parking spaces for the electric vehicles and auto-rickshaws alongside the footpaths. The slope of the roads, as well as the drains, will be redesigned to tackle the problem of waterlogging on the roads. Rainwater harvesting structures will be built inside the drainage systems to store rainwater as groundwater," the release stated.
Parking for rickshaws, separate parking spaces, green belt, open spaces for the public, cycle lanes, pedestrian lanes are among the facilities that will be developed under the projects, CMO release said.
