Ahead of the upcoming assembly polls in November, the Delhi government is all set to revive the long-abandoned 27-km-long Kalindi Kunj bypass project, which will connect the city’s arterial Ring Road with Palwal on National Highway – 2 in Haryana. The project is planned to de-congest Mathura Road, which currently takes brunt of the traffic coming into the city and going out through NH-2.
The planned bypass would start from DND break-off point near Kilokri/Kalindi Kunj on the Ring Road and go past the colonies like Taimur Nagar, Khirzrabad, Zakir Nagar, Batla House, Abul Fazal enclave and Jamia University. This would relieve the Jamia campus of the traffic currently moving from Mathura Road towards Noida barrage. Delhi Government PWD Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan said, ‘The Public Works Department (PWD) is currently planning realignment of the bypass to overcome the hurdles which had earlier led to the government abandoning the project.’ The minister said a consultant has been appointed and financial proposal has been sent to the government for consent. ‘Once we get the financial sanction, we will conduct a detailed feasibility study and work out a realignment plan,’ said the minister.
Though the project was conceived way back in 2002, it had to be abandoned due to Supreme Court’s fresh guidelines on restricting construction activity around river Yamuna and non-cooperative attitude of the Uttar Pradesh government. The construction work on the 6.5 km long bypass from the Kalindi Kunj Colony on Ring Road to Jamia Nagar was awarded in March 2003 at a cost of Rs 63.41 crore. The project was to start in 15 May, 2003 and was to be completed by 14 May, 2005. The scope of work included a flyover, clover leaf and two bridges on the Agra Canal. The remaining stretch in Haryana has already been constructed.
In June 2006, Delhi High Court passed orders prohibiting road construction within 300 meters from the edge of the river. Later that year, the Court modified the order allowing a road to be built 120 meters away from the river. However, the matter still could not be resolved with the UP government not agreeing to lease out land either from Okhla Bird Sanctuary, Yamunatory Guest House and sand mound near Yamuna. In May 2007, the PWD decided to close the work but till then Rs 52.50 crore had already been spent on the project.
The planned bypass would start from DND break-off point near Kilokri/Kalindi Kunj on the Ring Road and go past the colonies like Taimur Nagar, Khirzrabad, Zakir Nagar, Batla House, Abul Fazal enclave and Jamia University. This would relieve the Jamia campus of the traffic currently moving from Mathura Road towards Noida barrage. Delhi Government PWD Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan said, ‘The Public Works Department (PWD) is currently planning realignment of the bypass to overcome the hurdles which had earlier led to the government abandoning the project.’ The minister said a consultant has been appointed and financial proposal has been sent to the government for consent. ‘Once we get the financial sanction, we will conduct a detailed feasibility study and work out a realignment plan,’ said the minister.
Though the project was conceived way back in 2002, it had to be abandoned due to Supreme Court’s fresh guidelines on restricting construction activity around river Yamuna and non-cooperative attitude of the Uttar Pradesh government. The construction work on the 6.5 km long bypass from the Kalindi Kunj Colony on Ring Road to Jamia Nagar was awarded in March 2003 at a cost of Rs 63.41 crore. The project was to start in 15 May, 2003 and was to be completed by 14 May, 2005. The scope of work included a flyover, clover leaf and two bridges on the Agra Canal. The remaining stretch in Haryana has already been constructed.
In June 2006, Delhi High Court passed orders prohibiting road construction within 300 meters from the edge of the river. Later that year, the Court modified the order allowing a road to be built 120 meters away from the river. However, the matter still could not be resolved with the UP government not agreeing to lease out land either from Okhla Bird Sanctuary, Yamunatory Guest House and sand mound near Yamuna. In May 2007, the PWD decided to close the work but till then Rs 52.50 crore had already been spent on the project.