Delhi LG asks DDA to consider widening Maidangarhi approach road

DDA has been working on the plan to widen and the road from main Chattarpur Road to SAARC University and the developing nearby road network to other institutions and government establishments

Delhi lieutenant governor VK Saxena has directed the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) to explore the possibility of widening approach road to the institutional area in Maidangarhi and Satbari where institutions such as SAARC University, Central Armed Police Forces Institute of Management Science (CAPFIMS) are proposed to come up, officials aware of the matter said.

Delhi LG VK Saxena. (PTI)

DDA officials said the agency has invited bids to appoint a consultant to prepare a detailed project report for improving connectivity to these institutions from the main Chattarpur Road.

A senior DDA official said the agency is working on a plan to widen the Gaushala Road from 7 metres to 30 metres. “We have initiated the process to appoint a consultant to prepare the integrated transit corridor development and street network/connectivity plan, carry out surveys and feasibility studies,” said the official.

According to the tender document, the integrated corridor development will involve widening of the road from main Chattarpur Road to the SAARC University, a 24-metre wide road from the university to CAPFIMS, 12-18-metre roads around other proposed government institutions.

DDA informed the LG about the challenges the agency was facing in widening the roads in the area during a recent meeting of Unified Traffic and Transportation (Infrastructure and Engineering) Centre (UTTIPEC). “The widening of the road from existing 7 metres to 30 metres would require acquisition of private land, and more importantly clearance from the forest department that had declared the entire area as ‘morphological ridge’,” a DDA official said.

According to the Forest Department, morphological ridge is that part of the ridge area “which has ridge-like features but is not a notified forest”. It forms a part of the extension of the Aravallis.

The LG asked the DDA to fix a timeline and bring the amended proposals at the earliest for approval of the UTTIPEC.