E-Paper
Centre’s gift of modern infra to Delhi: PM Modi on Pragati Maidan integrated corridor
The integrated transit corridor is part of the Pragati Maidan revamp project and is aimed at easing movement in and around the exhibition centre. The main tunnel, which passes through Pragati Maidan, connects Ring Road with India Gate and opens on Purana Qila Road
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the ₹920 crore Pragati Maidan integrated transit corridor project, which includes a 1.4 km tunnel and five underpasses, on Sunday. He called it the Centre’s gift of modern infrastructure to the national capital and listed out other projects planned by the central government to make Delhi one of the better-connected capitals globally.
“Today, Delhi has got a beautiful gift of modern infrastructure from the Centre. It was not easy to complete this integrated project in such a short time, as the surrounding roads are among the busiest roads in the capital. Every day lakhs of people pass through it,” the PM said while inaugurating the corridor.
He said that people of Delhi and NCR had to suffer a lot due to traffic congestion in ITO and nearby areas. “The 1.5 km long tunnel will provide relief to thousands of people coming from east Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad (and commuting to central Delhi). This integrated corridor will help people save time and it will also save fuel. In the presentation it was said that 55 lakh litres of fuel will be saved,” said Modi.
The challenging project has been completed in a short span despite all the hurdles, including Covid-19 and court cases, said the PM. “This corridor is part of the project to transform Pragati Maidan as per the requirements of the 21st century,” said the Prime Minister.
The integrated transit corridor is part of the Pragati Maidan revamp project and is aimed at easing movement in and around the exhibition centre. The main tunnel, which passes through Pragati Maidan, connects Ring Road with India Gate and opens on Purana Qila Road.
There are six underpasses -- four on Mathura Road, one on Bhairon Marg, and one at the intersection of Ring Road and Bhairon Marg -- constructed as part of the project. At present, traffic from the W-point near ITO to Sunder Nagar goes through five signals, which causes frequent snarls along the key stretch.
The PM said that the central government has planned several road infrastructure projects such as highways (Delhi-Meerut, Delhi Mumbai, Delhi-Jaipur) and Rapid Rail Transit Systems to “make Delhi one of the better connected capitals in the world”.
He said the Centre is spending a lot of money on improving the connectivity between Delhi and neighbouring areas. “The biggest benefit of this is that it will ease the urban burden of Delhi,” he said.
While the corridor has been entirely funded by the Centre, the project was executed by Delhi government’s Public Works Department. Commerce minister Piyush Goyal said that initially the project was to be done jointly by the Centre and the state government and the latter had to pay just 20% of the total project cost.
“Unfortunately, the state government said that they will not pay. When we informed the PM about it, he said that the Centre will pay for the project…Initially, the scale of the project was very small. But the PM asked us to do holistic planning and take a comprehensive view. The cost of the project has increased 12 times,” said Goyal.
The 1.5 km long tunnel has artwork depicting the six seasons. Praising the artwork, the PM suggested that the tunnel should be made pedestrian-only on Sundays so that people can come and see the artwork on the walls.
