Govt allots another Rs 51 crore for road project

Saturday , June 13, 2009
source:http://www.indianexpress.com

The Delhi government Expenditure Finance Committee has allotted an additional Rs 51 crore for connecting the Barapullah Nullah elevated road between Sarai Kale Khan Road and Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium with Lala Lajpat Rai Marg.

The funds have been sanctioned for two slip roads that will be built close to Lodhi Hotel, connecting this elevated road to Lala Lajpat Rai Marg. The PWD incorporated the slip roads after the traffic police raised concern about it. This was to be part of Phase-2 originally.

In Phase 2 of the project, the elevated road will be extended from Jawaharlal Nehru stadium to INA. It will also connect to the Ring Road and there will be more slip roads at Sarai Kale Khan.

The original cost of the project was Rs 498 crore. The road is expected to be used by nearly 10,000 athletes during the Commonwealth Games. The deadline for the project is June 30, 2010.

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, Finance Minister Dr A K Walia, Transport Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely, and PWD Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan were present during the meeting.

The slip roads will save time for commuters coming from East Delhi to Central and South Delhi. It will also ease out traffic congestion on the Ring Road at Ashram, on Mathura Road and other arterial roads.

The cost of the Barapullah Nullah road has already appreciated by at least 15 per cent over its original projected cost, due to delays in construction and the road being elevated to 17 metres.

The committee has also approved five new DTC bus depots to accommodate additional buses that are expected to be added soon. The construction on these depots will be completed by this year-end. The new depots will be constructed at Pratap Nagar, Okhla-IV, Dera Mandi, Kair and Gadaipur. The Gadaipur depot will be constructed by DIMTS, whereas the other depots will be constructed by the DSIIDC.

The depots are being commissioned as the government has decided to facilitate the creation of infrastructure that will be made available for use of private bus operators. The new depots will be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs 79.12 crore.