Trimmed plan for August Kranti Marg gets SC nod

Tuesday, 11 May, 2010


Siri fort complex : Project gets green signal after PWD cuts number of trees to be felled from 54 to 15

Thirty-nine trees in South Delhi have been spared the axe after the Public Works Department (PWD) downsized its plans to widen the "arterial" August Kranti Marg for easy approach to the Siri Fort sports complex during the Commonwealth Games this October.

The PWD had initially put in a demand for felling 54 trees to broaden the entire August Kranti Marg stretch. Its plans got the green signal from the Supreme Court on Monday only after it brought the number down to 15.

The PWD stated it was too late in the day to stick to its original expansion plans, and felt that a slip road to the sports complex would be a safer bet. Fifteen trees fall in the way of the slip road. They are located at the August Kranti Marg-Balbir Saxena Marg intersection and the parking area opposite the Siri Fort auditorium.

The PWD had first revealed its change of plans to the Central Empowered Committee (CEC) in March this year.

The Green Bench of the Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan, on Monday agreed with the CEC's endorsement of the PWD's revised plans. The court, however, added that "wherever technically feasible, transplanting of trees will be done instead of felling".

The PWD, meanwhile, terms the "shortened project" necessary. "It is estimated that even if permission is granted (for the original plan) and work is started now, the same may not be completed before the Games, leading to traffic chaos," officials say.

The department originally planned to cut 54 trees on August Kranti Marg to cover a stormwater drain all the way from Panchsheel crossing to the Kamla Nehru College crossing. A cycle track and pedestrian space also featured in the earlier plan.

"This crossing otherwise faces traffic jams everyday due to irregular alignment of the existing roads. This work needs to be undertaken and completed not only for the Games but also as a necessary provision for future transport infrastructure," the PWD had said.

The PWD is now banking on the slip road — it will be constructed outside the Siri Fort auditorium crossing — to ensure the free movement of traffic towards the complex.

Original news source http://www.indianexpress.com/news/trimmed-plan-for-august-kranti-marg-gets-sc-nod/617137/0