3 new court projects lag behind schedule in Delhi

The matter came to light during a meeting attended by the chief minister and Public Works Department officials last week on the progress ongoing infrastructure projects in Delhi.

Construction work of at least three new court complexes is behind schedule due to high water levels in their respective areas which is impacting excavation for the foundation of the structures, according to officials aware of the matter.

At the building site in Rohini. (HT Photo)

The matter came to light during a meeting attended by the chief minister and Public Works Department officials last week on the progress ongoing infrastructure projects in Delhi.

According to officials, the high water level issue at the sites in Shashtri Park, Karkardooma and Rohini have pushed deadlines for all these projects to late 2026. They were scheduled to be completed by January 2026. The overall cost of the three projects is ₹674 crore.

“Work on all these sites started last year and excavation work is in progress currently. However, it is hampered due to high water levels at the site. We are working on managing the water levels by ensuring careful excavation so that the site is not flooded,” said a PWD official.

The district court complex at Shashtri Park, near Usmanpur, is being developed at a cost of ₹120.5 crore. Officials reported that just about 7% of the work has been completed so far.

“Anchoring of D-wall and excavation of soil upto level 1 basement is complete and excavation for the second level of basement is on. However, progress is hampered due high water level at the site,” the official cited above said.

The second project is the construction of an additional eight-storeyed court complex in front of the existing Karkardooma court at a cost of ₹124 crore. There too, only 7% of the work has been completed so far, said officials, who attributed the delay to late submission of structural drawings and high water levels.

Currently, the construction of the diaphragm wall is underway, officials added. Once the building is complete, PWD also plans to join the two court complexes via a foot overbridge so that lawyers and staff can use both buildings without having to wade through the traffic on the road.

The third district court complex is coming up at Rohini, Sector 26. The complex will feature three basements, a ground floor, and two 11-story blocks, housing 100 courtrooms and 270 lawyer chambers. The total estimated cost for this project is ₹714.19 crore. The administrative approval and expenditure sanction for the project was provided in January 2024. The project was initiated in June 2024 with estimated completion by February 9, 2026.

PWD has been able to achieve only 3% progress on the project. The revised target of completion has been pushed back to October 31, 2026, the official said.

“There has been a delay in receipt of environment clearance from the environment ministry and delay in submission of structural drawings from the consultant,” the official added. At present, the ongoing works at the site include reinforcement for the raft along with concrete work and laying of High-Density Polyethylene membrane.