Centre floats plan to deal with traffic flow in seven south Delhi colonies by 2019
NEWDELHI: A traffic decongestion plan around seven south Delhi colonies located in the vicinity of the Ring road is expected to come into force by March 2019 after approval from the United Traffic & Transportation Infrastructure, Planning and Engineering Centre (UTTIPEC), the Central government told the Delhi High Court last week.
The Union ministry of housing and urban affairs has filed an affidavit in the court citing the revised plan for the redevelopment of these colonies, which would provide houses for government officers.
The revised plan was submitted to the court after it directed the Centre to revisit the plans and environmental clearances obtained for the redevelopment.
“To cater to the increase in traffic, strategies like road restructuring, seamless connectivity and integration of public transportation nodes, expansion & restructuring of the existing network, adequate pathways for safety of pedestrian and cyclist will be taken into consideration,” an affidavit filed before the high court said.
The directions had come after amicus curiae, Gautam Bhan, an urban planning expert, had informed the court that the environmental clearance obtained for the projects was plagiarised and copy pasted from a project in Tamil Nadu.
The case was filed after citizen protests over the proposal to cut at least 14,000 trees in seven south Delhi neighbourhoods to make way for government housing and commercial spaces.
Last week, a bench comprisig Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V Kameswar Rao had allowed the Centre to approach appropriate authorities to seek necessary approvals for the revised proposals regarding re-development of six south Delhi colonies, including Sarojini Nagar and Netaji Nagar.
It, however, maintained the status quo on Nauroji Nagar and said construction would not resume in this project in the area.
In its affidavit filed through standing counsel Ripu Daman Bhardwaj, the Centre said Delhi government’s Public Works Department (PWD) had been requested to conduct a comprehensive study and to recommend measures for decongesting traffic in the areas of these seven colonies.
According to Delhi Traffic Police statistics, about 130,000 vehicles pass through the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), crossing Aurobindo Marg every day. Another 300,000 vehicles ply between Bhikaji Cama Place and Lajpat Nagar flyovers. Experts have raised concerns over the traffic congestion the redevelopment was likely to create.
“The conceptual plan shall be submitted by the PWD to UTTIPEC by October 15, 2018, and the final approval on traffic decongestion is expected by December 208. The groundwork for traffic decongestion, as approved by the UTTPEC, is expected to be commenced by March 2019. The time period of completion shall be 18 months,” the affidavit read.