IIT Roorkee, DEC to check health of city roads

With most roads the Delhi government recently took over from the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) being in a dilapidated state, the public works department (PWD) has hired experts to ascertain their strength and longevity.

With most roads the Delhi government recently took over from the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) being in a dilapidated state, the public works department (PWD) has hired experts to ascertain their strength and longevity.

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Delhi PWD minister Rajkumar Chauhan said, based on report prepared by the experts, the department would decide whether the roads require to be dug up and built again.

"We have asked IIT Roorkee and Delhi College of Engineering to carry out a joint survey and give us the report at the earliest. Based on their opinion, we will take a call on how many roads need to be rebuilt and how many just require dense carpeting," Chauhan said.

Following complaints from a large number of MLAs, especially those who represent rural and outer Delhi areas, that arterial roads in their area were in bad shape and the MCD was unable to maintain them, Delhi government took over all 60 feet wide roads from the civic agency.

The DTC, too, withdrew its low floor buses from routes in these areas as there were complaints of faster wear and tear.

The PWD has taken over 670 such roads, measuring 765 kilometres, from the MCD. With monsoon less than a month away, Chauhan said the department has started filling potholes and carrying out patchwork.