Development a delayed promise in West Delhi

Tall promises of development, from ffyovers to multispecialty hospitals, have fizzled out into stagnant project sites that create more commotion than order, say the residents of West Delhi Lok Sabha constituency. The first thing on their minds when going to cast their vote on May 25 will be to support a candidate who will be able to complete the development plans that have long since overshot their deadline, say voters.

Some of the under-development projects that stick out like eyesores in the constituency include the Punjabi Bagh ffyover, the Hastsal hospital at Uttam Nagar, and sections of the Dwarka Expressway and Urban Extension Road II.

Voters say that though they waited a long time for these new constructions, they are nowhere near completion and have become a daily inconvenience.

The 496-metre ffyover, part of the 1.68-km Punjabi Bagh-Rajouri Garden corridor redevelopment plan proposed by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in 2022, will help commuters collectively save at least six lakh litres of fuel every year, Delhi Finance Minister Atishi had claimed.

According to oficials of the Public Works Department, the project, which is expected to connect Punjabi Bagh to Azadpur, Dhaula Kuan, Rohtak Road and Gurugram, is being built at a cost of ª352.3 crore.

However, since the beginning of work in September 2022, trafic congestion has shown no signs of easing for commuters, who claim that both the construction of the ffyover and the digging of land for the metro in the area have increased travel time on a road that has been damaged for years.

Vikas Goyal, who has been a resident of east Punjabi Bagh since 1994, said though the construction began with full pomp in three phases, only one ffyover has been made operational so far. “All the roads are perpetually blocked, and because of that, we cannot avail of cab or delivery services. Even autorickshaws don’t want to come here because of trafic,” he said, adding that a commute that once took five minutes now takes at least 45 minutes.

In Dwarka, the first-ever eight-lane elevated Dwarka Expressway on NH48, once considered a “big achievement” in tackling trafic, also remains under construction.

Close ght

The constituency, which underwent delimitation in 2008, has gone to polls thrice since. While Mahabal Mishra, then a part of the Congress, was MP from 2009 to 2014, Parvesh Sahib Singh of the BJP scored two consecutive wins in West Delhi in 2014 and 2019. However, all 10 Assembly segments were won by AAP in the 2020 State election.

This year, Mr. Mishra, who was suspended from the Congress for “anti-party activities” in 2020, is contesting on an AAP ticket.

He joined the party in 2022. The BJP, meanwhile, has dropped Mr. Singh, and has fielded Kamaljeet Sehrawat, a fresh face. Both candidates have claimed that easing commute and upgrading infrastructure are their focus areas.

While Mr. Mishra has said he will extend the metro line in the area and fix the ageold issue of parking space, Ms. Sehrawat’s “blueprint” includes plans to build new parks, sports facilities, and community halls. She has also promised to repair roads and provide better water supply in the area.

But voters say that above all else, the completion of existing projects should be the priority.

“Leaders usually come here only around elections, but this time, we want the candidates to take stock of the situation and work on executing their promises. We do want ffyovers and repaired roads, but not with such disarray that even calling an ambulance is dificult,” Mr. Goyal said.