New Delhi: The Public Works Department (PWD) has received a proposal to construct 21 new foot over bridges (FOBs) across the city.
The proposals given by the Traffic Police were last month reviewed by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and after that ground surveys have also commenced for report.
Some of the locations where FOBs are required are Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Marg near exit gate of Old Delhi Railway station, Shaheed Captain Batra Chowk, in front of LNJP hospital in Central Delhi, Ajmeri Gate chowk and Munja Chowk, Boulevard road, in South Delhi’s Lala Lajpat Rai Marg and few others, as per the proposal.
According to a government document, of the 21 locations, some stretches also fall under other agencies like the National Highway Authority of India and the Delhi Developed Authority.
“For these locations, the department will inform the concerned agency and then further decisions will be taken on what is to be done,” said an official.
The PWD has been pulled up by the courts on several occasions for poor conditions of the FOBs across the city. Many of these bridges lack facilities of lifts, the escalators are dysfunctional and the overall condition is dirty. A study done by the Planning department in 2018 stated that of the total FOBs at the time, 77 per cent had no lifts, only 23 per cent had escalators and around 70 per cent did not have a security guard.
In 2023, the Delhi High Court criticised the FOBs for being in such a “pathetic condition” that even a healthy person wouldn’t be able to use them.
The PWD assured the court later that repairs and necessary changes would be made.
The PWD announced the formation of a committee to look after maintenance of these public facilities. The committee then came up with a comprehensive plan for maintaining the FOBs, which includes cleaning and protecting them from theft and vandalism.