Ashram to DND extension of flyover gets Govt nod
NEW DELHI: The Delhi government's Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) on Friday approved six major projects including the extension of the flyover from Ashram to DND and 12,000 additional classrooms in government schools. The government also passed the projects like the redevelopment of Chandni Chowk from Lal Jain Mandir to Fatehpuri Mosque and construction of integrated campus of GB Pant Engineering College and Polytechnic at Okhla.
"Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister, Manish Sisodia on Friday chaired the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) meeting, in which six important projects worth Rs 1,572 crore were granted approval," said an official. The Ashram flyover was planned to decongest the place.
In 2016, Delhi's Public Works Department (PWD) announced the construction of a 750-metre underpass at the Ashram intersection for signal-free rides from Nizamuddin to New Friends Colony on Mathura Road. The cost of the project was approximately Rs 87 crore. The following year, PWD proposed the extension of the existing Ashram flyover till the Delhi Noida Direct (DND) Flyway to ease Ring Road traffic at a cost of approximately Rs 125 crore. Unified Traffic and Transportation Infrastructure (Planning and Engineering) Centre (UTTIPEC) — the apex body for approving infrastructure projects in the city — okayed the underpass and the flyover extension in 2016 and 2017, respectively.
The construction of integrated campus of GB Pant Engineering College and Polytechnic would need nearly Rs 526 crore. This campus would help the students of the Delhi to get more intense training on the polytechnic. On the other hand, the new classroom project was of nearly Rs 326 crore.
The Chandni Chowk redevelopment project, work on which started on December 1, will be completed by March 2020. According to Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation officials, the timeline has been reworked to ensure minimum inconvenience to locals. Earlier, the Delhi Jal Board and BSES (the discom), which started the work simultaneously, were to finish the work by April and September respectively.
The task of redeveloping a bustling region in the heart of the city, dotted with heritage structures, dilapidated
infrastructure and a shopping hub with thousands of small traders in narrow alleys, was always fraught with both infrastructure and political challenges.
In this project, the central section of the road will be increased to 3.5 meters, with the state government planning to build a large parking facility with a capacity to accommodate 1,500 cars in Chandni Chowk's Dangal Maidan.
