NEW DELHI: After snubbing representatives from the elected Delhi government, Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri on Monday inaugurated the Skywalk at ITO here, in the presence of Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, New Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi and other officials.
Puri claimed that when the Delhi government, which was supposed to provide 20 per cent of the project cost, did not give its clearance, his ministry decided to execute the same on its own.
Meanwhile, on his official twitter handle, AAP chief spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj on Monday shared a screenshot of the 'detail expenditure return' for September, which showed the funds spent for Skywalk project.
"@HardeepSPuri, Either you are not briefed by your officers or you are in habit of manipulating people. This is the money paid by the Delhi government for ITO skywalk," the AAP legislator's tweet said.
Earlier, Delhi Public Words Department Minister Satyender Jain had stated that in accordance with the 80-20 percent funding agreement, the Delhi government provided around Rs 12 crore of the Skywalk's estimated cost of around Rs 55 crore.
The Rs 12 crore was immediately sanctioned and released by the AAP government, Jain had said.
"An unjustified and unreasonable attempt to delay this project was made by a bureaucrat handpicked by the central government and later rewarded with a plum posting, particularly even after the DUAC (Delhi Urban Art Commission) had approved the design and appreciated it by nominating it for providing financial help," Jain had stated.
In his statement, Jain had said it was the PWD "which conceptualised the idea for the Skywalk at ITO, came out with a unique design, prepared a detailed project report and finally executed the construction and beautification work of this project which is now ready to be showcased as a tourist destination in central Delhi."
Constructed with steel structure by the PWD, the Skywalk has been designed to ease pedestrian movement along Mathura Road, Tilak Marg, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg and Sikandra Road.
"The ITO Crossing and W Point Junction are two of the busiest crossings, as far as pedestrian traffic is concerned. There are over 25 major offices and other institutions located in this area. Approximately 30,000 pedestrian cross various roads around (this area)," said an official statement from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
A large network of public utilities has been constructed to connect all the sides of various roads – Tilak Marg, Sikandra Road, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg and Mathura Road – with Pragati Maidan Metro Station, it further said.
"The Skywalk shall have six passenger lifts of 20 persons capacity and one lift of 16 person capacity. Solar PV modules, Wi-Fi, CCTV has been provided in Skywalk and FOB. The LED fittings for functional and architectural lighting have also been provided. The entire Skywalk has been covered under CCTV surveillance. A police booth has also been constructed under the Skywalk for constant surveillance in the area," the Ministry statement added.