NDMC to survey 300km of back-lanes in Lutyens’ Delhi for repair, recarpeting

According to the proposal cleared by the council in August 2024, ₹4.72 crore will be spent on the project with CRRI’s assistance for maintenance of the NDMC road network

Following the review of its avenue roads earlier this year, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) will now assess the back-lanes across Lutyens’ Delhi to draw up a repair and recarpeting plan with help from the Central Road Research Institute (CRRI), senior civic officials said.

Stretches such as Outer Circle of Connaught Place (above), Sansad Marg, Janpath, KG Marg and Lodhi Estate, among others, are set to be revamped and re-carpeted soon. (HT Archive)

The assessment will cover around 300km of road length and is expected to take 50–70 days, officials added.

A senior NDMC official said CRRI had surveyed 79 avenue roads in January and February, flagging issues such as cracking, distress and weathering.

“CRRI had recommended milling and overlay in the case of at least 60 of the 79 roads, covering important stretches such as Outer Circle of Connaught Place, Sansad Marg, Janpath, KG Marg and Lodhi Estate, among others. Tenders for most of these roads have already been floated. We are now starting the second phase of assessment in which 300km of back-lanes will be studied. All key colonies and office spaces in New Delhi have provision for back-lanes which have not been re-carpeted in recent years and suffer from wear and tear,” the official said, asking not to be named.

Charanjeet Batra, from Mandi House’s old compound, said the back lanes and footpaths in their area are in urgent need of repair. “It has become difficult to walk in a locality that was once known for its infrastructure. Only patchwork has been done in the past using debris, leaving the surface uneven. The back lanes need proper resurfacing,” he added.

NDMC oversees a 1,298km road network, 372km of paved footpaths and 52 rotaries, with about 5,343 road signages. According to the proposal cleared by the council in August 2024, ₹4.72 crore will be spent on the project with CRRI’s assistance for maintenance of the NDMC road network.

In September 2024, NDMC signed an agreement with CRRI to carry out a study aimed at improving road infrastructure in the New Delhi area. Under the agreement, CRRI will conduct a structural evaluation of roads, supervise construction quality and help train engineers and staff members linked to road maintenance and engineering divisions, officials said.

HT had earlier reported on October 13 that NDMC had set the ball rolling for a large-scale post-monsoon road revamp covering key arterial stretches of New Delhi. The council has invited five separate bids worth ₹83.9 crore for recarpeting damaged roads across five divisions—Connaught Place, R-1, R-2, R-4 and R-5. Officials said the bids are likely to be finalised in the first week of November.