Delhi Budget: 1,400km roads to get a makeover in transport push

Finance minister Kailash Gahlot during his address called the upgrade plan the “biggest effort in the history of any Indian city” to improve road infrastructure.

The Delhi government will repair, upgrade and beautify 1,400km of roads across the national capital within a year, state finance minister Kailash Gahlot said on Wednesday, taking the wraps off an extensive plan to spruce up every stretch under the ambit of the city’s public work departments (PWD).

The revamp forms a key pillar of the Budget’s theme of a “Saaf, Sundar and Adhunik Shahar”. (HT Photo)

Presenting the annual Budget, which laid emphasis on upgrading the Capital’s ageing infrastructure, Gahlot during his address called the upgrade plan the “biggest effort in the history of any Indian city” to improve road infrastructure.

“We are launching this effort in a very significant year, when Delhi is hosting the G20 summit,” Gahlot said.

The plan includes repairing and re-carpeting the entire PWD road and pavement network, greening unpaved areas alongside roads, as well as regular sweeping and washing.

The exercise will be completed by April 2024, said Gahlot.

To implement the ambitious plan, he added, the government will spend ₹2,034 crore on this ambitious plan over the next year and ₹19,466 crore in the next decade.

The revamp forms a key pillar of the Budget’s theme of a “Saaf, Sunder and Adhunik Shahar” (Clean, beautiful and modern city).

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal made the initial announcement about the 10-year plan on January 28 this year.

The PWD oversees roads that are wider than 60-feet, putting most arterial stretches across the city under the agency’s ambit. According to officials, Delhi has 18460.37km of roads out of which 1,400km fall under PWD and are used by 70% of Delhi’s traffic.

Roads narrower than or equal to 60-feet (usually internal colony roads) come under the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

The road revamp plan will have three major components, Gahlot said. Firstly, every PWD road in Delhi will be black-topped (technical parlance meaning a black bituminous material will be used for paving roads), lanes marked properly, and zebra crossings and signs placed in sync with global norms.

“The roads will be painted every three months and the agency carrying out the initial upgradation will be in-charge of maintaining it for next 10 years, so that there is accountability,” Gahlot said.

Second, every footpath, central verge and road-side space on this network will be renovated.

“Central verges will be repaired, and wherever there is unpaved land on the side of these roads, green cover will be added.

Third, roads will be swept and washed on a large scale, using machines, to ensure road dust does not settle.

To this effect, the government will procure 70 road-sweeping machines and 210 larger water-sprinkler and anti-smog gun machines, as well as 250 smaller water sprinkler machines. The government will use all of these units via private agencies.

“The dust problem also exists on smaller roads that fall under MCD. We will deploy 250 water sprinkler machines to improve the city’s ambient air quality…,” he added.

“The pilot projects at spots like Moti Bagh to Mayapuri, from Moolchand junction to Ashram Chowk, at Lodhi Road, at Rajghat Road have been a huge success,” said Gahlot.

Experts called the plan a “step in the right direction”.

S Velmurugan, chief scientist and head of the traffic engineering and safety division at the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), called it a “unique model”.

“The arterial 1,400-km roads carry 70% of traffic. I don’t think any other government has attempted something on this scale. The idea seems to be good, but will hinge on implementation, monitoring and compliance,” he said.