Major infrastructure projects in the city would be delayed by at least five to six months due to the ongoing Covid crisis, hampering government efforts to streamline traffic flow at major junctions in the city and making roads safer for pedestrians.
Even though construction work has begun at some places after a long hiatus in view of the national lockdown to arrest the spread of Sars-Cov-2, funding and labour remain pertinent problems before the contractors. Last week, the government had relaxed norms but still several restrictions remain regarding social distancing and management of labour at the sites.
Construction on key projects across the capital had been in limbo for the past nearly six months. In November, all construction activity in Delhi was banned in view of rising air pollution. It was completely lifted on February 14, but within almost a month, it was again halted on March 25 due to the nationwide corona lockdown.
The Delhi government’s Public Works Department (PWD) is helming key projects such as the construction of 1.2-km-long tunnel between Purana Qila road near Mathura Road and the Ring Road, which is part of ITPO Pragati Maidan Redevelopment Project; Barapullah phase-3 elevated corridor; Ashram underpass; flyovers at Seelampur and Shastri Park; Benito-Juarez Road underpass.
“Deadlines for almost all projects are likely to be extended. Work has started but it is going on very slow. Since November, we have not been able to work properly,” a senior PWD engineer said requesting anonymity.
With thousands of labourers returning home and the Delhi government making it clear that it will release funds on priority only for Covid-related works, the construction work is expected to take a lot of time to pick up pace, officials associated with several projects said.
S Velmurugan, senior principal scientist, traffic engineering and safety division, Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), said, “Such long delays will not only delay freedom from crippling traffic jams but also escalate project cost. Projects such as Ashram underpass and Barapullah-3 are of utmost importance as they aim to decongest traffic bottlenecks at Ashram, Ring Road, ITO,” he said.
Sewa Ram, professor at School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), said the city may have to wait another winter for key infra projects to finish. “It is going to have a ripple effect. The cost will escalate, then fresh approvals would be needed and fresh resources will have to be mobilised. The government may have a relook at some of the projects or halt them temporarily,” Ram said.
A look at five key infra projects that have been hit by intermittent delays.
Delhi’s first road tunnel
The PWD is constructing this Rs 777-crore project, which entails construction of a 1.2-km-long tunnel and six underpasses to ease travel to India Gate and parts of central Delhi from different corners of the city especially from east Delhi, Noida and Ghaziabad.
The tunnel road, a first for Delhi, would go beneath the Pragati Maidan, which is being revamped. The tunnel will start near National Sports Complex of India (NSCI) on Purana Qila Road and culminate on the Ring Road near Pragati Power station. PWD officials said that about 70% work of the project has been completed.
“The June deadline is to be extended by around three months. Big exhaust fans, which are used to maintain air circulation in the tunnel by throwing smoke emanating from vehicles out of the tunnel, were to be procured from Germany but due to lockdown the process could not be started,” a PWD official said.
Ashram underpass project:
It is one of the most awaited projects of the city because the underpass can help decongest of the most busiest stretches across Delhi. The project entails construction of a 750-metre-long underpass along Mathura Road at busy Ashram crossing. The project also include extension of existing Ashram flyover on the Ring Road up to the beginning of DND Flyway. According to PWD officials, only around five percent construction work of the underpass has been completed while the construction of flyover extension is yet to start.
Traffic police data shows that around 3 lakh vehicles cross the Ashram intersection every day during peak traffic hours. Deadline of the underpass construction is December 2020. It is likely to be extended by around four to five months as work couldn’t be carried out at desired pace.
“Preparatory works such as site marking, site survey and utility identification was completed. But we could not start construction work in full swing as the we could not get required traffic diversion due to protests at Shaheen Bagh. Because of protests, the road leading to Noida was closed so entire traffic was moving through Ashram only. Later, the construction work was stalled due to coronavirus outbreak,” a PWD official said on the condition of anonymity.
The official added that now they have asked the concessionaire to resume construction activities on the site.
Barapullah Phase-3 elevated corridor:
The elevated corridor aims to provide seamless connectivity between Mayur Vihar-I and Sarai Kale Khan, where it will meet the existing Barapullah-I elevated corridor, making the nearly 9.5km journey to AIIMS signal free. In September 2019, the government had issued a gazette notification to start acquisition of two patches of land — 250m and 500m — which had stalled the progress of the 3.5-km elevated corridor project for the last four years. The land belongs to farmers of Nagli Razapur village near Sarai Kale Khan.
“By publishing the land acquisition notification, the government had paved way for removing the major hurdle of the project. After this the district administration had to begin the process of land acquisition but it was stalled earlier because of model code of conduct and later due to coronavirus lockdown,” a senior PWD official said on the condition of anonymity.
Flyovers at Shastri Park and Seelampur:
The construction of these flyovers had started in February 2019 and was to be ended in March 2020 but the project hit a hurdle initially when construction was banned due to pollution and later because of riots in north east Delhi. A majority of the migrant labourers employed in the construction of these two projects have fled to their villages fearing attacks. “The construction was further banned due to coronavirus lockdown on March 25. Now we have resumed construction activities and are hoping to complete the project in next two months as over 85% work has been completed,” a PWD official said.
These flyovers aim to end traffic bottlenecks in congested east and north-east Delhi areas such as Shahdara, Welcome, Shastri Park, Kashmere Gate, Seelampur and Kajoori Khas.
Benito-Juarez Road underpass
The project includes construction of a three-lane underpass, near Venkateswara College, in south Delhi. It will connect Benito Juarez Road— the radial road connecting the Ring Road with the Outer Ring Road — with San Martin Road. The facility will reduce travel time from the airport to central Delhi and AIIMS by 20 minutes and 15 minutes, respectively. “The project was initially delayed due to shifting of utilities, and the complex nature of construction work. Later it was delayed by the construction bans imposed due to pollution and Covid-19 lockdown,” an official said associated with the project said.
