HC seeks timeline for foot overbridge at Rajputana Rifles base

A report published by HT last month highlighted the ordeal of over 3,000 soldiers of the regiment who were forced to march through a smelly culvert.

The Delhi high court on Wednesday called for a final plan for the construction of a foot overbridge (FOB) for the Rajputana Rifles, the oldest rifle regiment of the Indian Army located in Delhi Cantonment, and directed the agencies concerned to hold a joint meeting next month in this regard.

The renovated underpass at Rajputana Rifles regiment entrance at Ring Road Delhi Cantt (Vipin Kumar/Hindustan Times)

A division bench of justices Pratibha M Singh and Manmeet Arora was presiding over the case, which was initiated suo motu after the court took cognisance of a report published by HT last month. The report highlighted the ordeal of over 3,000 soldiers of the regiment who were forced to march through a smelly culvert — which overflows during rains — four times a day to head to their parade ground as authorities failed to build an FOB.

The bench directed the stakeholders — Public Works Department, Delhi Cantonment Board and the Delhi Traffic Police — to hold a joint meeting in July to brainstorm an immediate solution for the construction of a bridge for the convenience of the soldiers.

“Let a plan be finalised for the construction of the FOB and a report be submitted on the budget, design and timeline of its construction,” the bench said. It added that the cost of the construction shall be borne by PWD, after noting that a plan to construct a bridge was approved several years back, but no action had been taken yet.

The bench further took note of a status report submitted by the deputy commissioner of police (New Delhi) of Delhi Traffic Police, which suggested the construction of a Bailey Bridge as a short-term measure. The report stated that such a bridge was constructed by the Indian Army’s ‘Madras Sappers’ during the 2010 Commonwealth Games near the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.

A Bailey bridge is a strong, modular structure, the parts of which can be assembled or moved when needed.

To this, the bench ordered that the construction of such a bridge shall also be discussed in the joint meeting, as a temporary measure before an FOB is constructed.

The court meanwhile, till the time a final report on the FOB’s construction is submitted, directed authorities to ensure that there was no waterlogging at the said culvert so that soldiers could smoothly move towards the parade ground. “Authorities should regularly monitor the pumping out of water from the culvert,” the bench said.

The Delhi Cantonment Board and PWD, in their status reports, stated that the construction of the FOB will take over 300 days. In the meantime, the culvert is being maintained with a pump to prevent waterlogging, and regular cleaning is being carried out, they stated.

The court listed the matter for the second week of July.

In an earlier hearing, PWD had told the court that it shall remove debris and garbage from the culvert as a short-term measure until an FOB was constructed. The court had directed the cleaning of the area to be undertaken immediately and photographs be placed before the court on the next date of hearing.

PWD had further told the court that the construction of the FOB would take time due to the area’s topography, vehicular movement and the metro line. The court had also asked the deputy commissioner of police (traffic) to convene a meeting with senior PWD officials to consider planning a traffic signal or a zebra crossing for the convenience of the soldiers.

Taking judicial notice of the news report, the court had called the situation “unacceptable”, noting that as per the report, the soldiers were required to pass through the culvert, which was slick with sludge and flooded with waist-deep water, four times a day. The bench noted that a bridge was requested but never built.