Rs 100 crore boost for Signature Bridge

Delhi Finance Minister Manish Sisodia approved an additional Rs 100 crores for timely completion of the Signature Bridge, which is running seven years behind schedule owing to fund crunch,

Delhi Tourism Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam said that after this, no revision will be done in the budget, adding he has also "written a letter to the Chief Secretary for this amount." Gautam also asked the Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC) to fix responsibilty for cost escalation and delay in project.

Rs 1,244 crore has already been released and this amount is in addition to that.

The contractor in charge of executing the project, which is in its last stage, has sought around Rs 250 crores and eight more months for completion.

The idea to construct the bridge was conceptualised in 1997 when a school bus fell in the Yamuna. A decision was taken to construct a bridge parallel to the Wazirabad Bridge.

However, for the next 15 years, the proposal was stuck in bureaucratic hassles. The final decision to construct the Bridge, at par with the global standards, was taken in 2004 and it was decided to be completed before the Commonwealth Games 2010.

However, it took another six years for the Cabinet to grant its approval in 2010 with an estimate of Rs 1,131 crore.

DTTDC was entrusted with the responsibility of the ambitious project, which was

initially pegged to cost around Rs 1,131 crore, which was later revised to Rs 1,575 crore.

"The contractor cited a few reasons behind the delay. The workers had encountered a big chunk of rock under the Yamuna and they had to get machines from abroad to remove it, which took up some time," Gautam said.

Gautam, who assumed office after the ouster of Kapil Mishra, emphasised that the demand for additional funds will be considered only if the contractor manages to cite a plausible reason.

In January, Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal had directed the authorities concerned to send to him a monthly-progress report of the project.