Delhi plans 215 fixes to ease jams at 62 traffic hot spots

Six areas, including South Extension Part-1, Majnu Ka Tila, and Mayur Vihar Phase-3, are largely congested on weekends and market days.

New Delhi : The Delhi government on Tuesday said traffic flow at 62 congestion hot spots across the city is expected to improve significantly, with 215 localised interventions planned to ease vehicular movement. These congestion points were identified by the Delhi traffic police last year.

On the Max Hospital stretch in Saket, road widening was found to be unfeasible, but the MCD has been given six months to identify additional parking spaces. (Representational Photo/RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

According to the government’s state action plan against air pollution, recently submitted to the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), 83 interventions have already been completed, while 50 more are scheduled to be finished within one to six months, senior officials said. Another 46 proposed interventions have been found unfeasible and will be reviewed.

These congestion points were identified by the Delhi traffic police last year.

The plan states that around 35 congestion hot spots are likely to be decongested by the end of this year.

HT had reported on November 22 that these 62 perennial congestion points were contributing to localised emissions. The locations span nearly every district of the city: from the chronically clogged Bhavbhuti Marg outside New Delhi Railway Station to Madhuban Chowk in northwest Delhi, Mayur Vihar Phase-3 in east Delhi, South Extension in south Delhi, Punjabi Bagh in west Delhi, and the dense transit corridors around Kashmere Gate and Anand Vihar.

An HT analysis found that more than half of these sites witness severe traffic jams during morning and evening peak hours, including major stretches near Safdarjung Hospital, Ajmeri Gate, Max Hospital in Saket, and the Punjabi Bagh roundabout on Ring Road.

Another 11 locations, including Chelmsford Road near New Delhi railway station and Purana Quila Road near Patiala House courts, experience heavy congestion primarily in the evenings.

Six areas, including South Extension Part-1, Majnu Ka Tila, and Mayur Vihar Phase-3, are largely congested on weekends and market days.

The government’s action plan states that each intervention is being reviewed in detail, with area-specific measures assessed regularly. Another 45 local interventions are expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of the year (March).

At Guru Ravidas Marg, proposed measures include relocating a local fish market to a mutually agreed site and removing road encroachments, with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) given three months to implement them.

On the Neela Gumbad–Lajpat Nagar stretch, the MCD has been given three months to create designated parking spaces for visitors and conduct regular anti-encroachment drives.

At the Devli–Sainik Farm congestion point, the public works department (PWD) has been given one year to undertake road widening and explore the construction of a flyover, after the completion of Delhi Metro work.

On the Max Hospital stretch in Saket, road widening was found to be unfeasible, but the MCD has been given six months to identify additional parking spaces. Road widening was also found unfeasible at Chelmsford Road and Faiz Road.

At the Ashram Chowk–Lajpat Nagar stretch, planned measures include removal of encroachments and shifting a bus stand near NAFED at Ashram Chowk by about 100 metres towards Maharani Bagh, with a one-month timeline.

Sunil Dahiya, founder and lead analyst at the think tank Envirocatalysts, said addressing congestion hot spots is a positive step but must be accompanied by improvements in public transport and last-mile connectivity.

“We need a robust public transport system and adequate infrastructure that promotes safe cycling and walkability. Only then will there be sustained reduction in vehicles on the roads and, consequently, in overall emissions,” he said.