2 flyovers and 1 underpass to unclog east Delhi await nod

INFRASTRUCTURE The project proposed to come up on Mangal Pandey Marg will provide a signalfree ride to Ghaziabad from Bhajanpura

NEWDELHI: The plan to build two flyovers and an underpass on the Mangal Pandey Marg in northeast Delhi — to unclog the traffic-heavy stretch and providing a signal-free ride to Ghaziabad — may not take off before one-and-a-half years.

The Public Works Department (PWD), the agency which will execute the project, is yet to get administrative approval of the project from the government. A senior PWD official said it would take least more than a year to build two flyovers and an underpass on the stretch after getting the government approval.

An administrative approval is needed before a final nod from the state cabinet. Files related to project estimate are cleared by the secretary of the department concerned and from finance and planning departments before being sent to the cabinet for approval.

Mangal Pandey Marg is one of the key stretches which connects Delhi with Uttar Pradesh. Currently, it takes commuters more than an hour to reach Ghaziabad from Khajuri Chowk in northeast Delhi because of heavy traffic and rampant encroachments. The signal-free stretch, according to PWD officials, will reduce travel time by at least 40 minutes.

PWD officials said an underpass and two flyovers will come up between Khajuri Chowk and Bhopura border in Uttar Pradesh. The stretch, at present, has around 7-8 traffic signals due to which traffic moves slowly on this road especially during peak morning and evening hours.

“The flyovers will be constructed at Karawal Nagar, Bhajanpura Junction and at Gagan Cinema in Nand Nagri T-junction. The underpass will come up near Loni Road. The estimated cost of the project is around Rs 628 crore,” a PWD official said.

The official added the process of approval and preparation of estimate is being delayed due to involvement of multiple agencies. “We had submitted the estimates file in the secretariat around four months back but it was returned following some queries for utilities shifting. We have re-submitted the preliminary estimate and are now waiting for administrative approval before we float tenders,” the official said.

Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in his budget speech on March 22 had announced to start construction on the project this year.

BJP MLA from Mustafabad, Jagdish Pradhan said currently residents of northeast district have to struggle their way through heavy traffic to reach Ghaziabad . Pradhan said the situation will be worse once Signature Bridge on Yamuna become operational as large number of people would use the stretch .

“The free-flowing traffic from Wazirabad side gets stuck at Bhajanpura junction on Mangal Pandey Marg. I have raised questions in the Assembly in and personally asked the minister to expedite the process of making the stretch signal-free. Ideally, the stretch should have been made signal-free by now but for the last two years the government had been saying that they will soon begin the construction yet nothing happened,” Pradhan said.

PWD minister Satyendar Jain in a written reply to Pradhan’s question in the Assembly had on March 21 said that the project was conceptualised in 2015 but it could get the nod of

DEPUTY CHIEF MINISTER MANISH SISODIA IN HIS BUDGET SPEECH ON MARCH 22 HAD ANNOUNCED TO START CONSTRUCTION ON THE PROJECT THIS YEAR

Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure (Planning & Engineering) Centre (UTTIPEC) on November 23, 2016.

On November 29, 2017, PWD submitted the estimates to the secretary. It was submitted again on January 2, 2018, including observations from the PWD secretary.

“On February 23, 2018 finance and planning departments had sent some observations on the estimates. A meeting for revised estimates was conducted with finance secretary in March first week . The project estimate is under consideration with the government and the construction work will start in six months after getting approval,” Jain said.

The PWD officials said that after getting administrative approval from finance department, tenders would be floated and construction would start.