Ambitious road project to decongest capital scrapped

Railways, land-owning agencies against East-West Corridor project

An ambitious project to decongest Central Delhi, including the busiest ITO intersection, has hit a roadblock.

The AAP government has been denied permission by the Railways and other land-owning agencies to construct the elevated East-West Corridor. Officials said that a team of experts submitted a negative feasibility report saying that the project was “unworkable.”

The report also said that “multiplicity of authorities” has made the project unviable and hence suggested that the proposal be scrapped.

If completed, the corridor would have immensely benefited the national capital. The alignment of the corridor was such that it would decongest the heavily congested areas like Anand Vihar, Vikas Marg, ITO, New Delhi railway station, Karol Bagh, Janakpuri, and Punjabi Bagh among others. A senior government official confirmed that the project has been scrapped.

The Railways was also keen to get a loop of the corridor extended up to Old Delhi railway station, but its feasibility could not be worked out. Sources said that this would have required massive construction along the densely populated ‘Walled City.’

It is also learnt that Railways do not have the land required for constructing the corridor. Sources said that at best Railways could have provided land along with its tracks for erecting pillars. The project involved several ministries, including railway ministry, road transport and highways and urban development ministry, apart from the city government.

It is learnt that no consensus could be arrived at by different stake-holders on the proposed project.

A senior railway officer said the feasibility report also found that land acquisition for the project was extremely difficult. He said that obtaining clearance from multiple agencies was another hurdle that could have delayed the project and thus resulting in cost escalation. The project cost was initially pegged at `2,500 crore. Sources said that cost sharing was another contentious issue between the agencies involved.

The corridor was conceptualised by the public works department (PWD) of Delhi government to provide congestion-free connectivity to major railway stations at Anand Vihar and New Delhi.

In a letter to Northern Railway, the PWD has sought inputs so as to make the proposed corridor beneficial for rail passengers. This assumes significance in the wake of traffic congestion around ITO, DDU Marg, Ajmeri Gate, and Paharganj that often choke the entry to the New Delhi Railway Station.