After years of neglect and three days into HT’s ‘Save CP’ campaign, the project to restore the Capital’s showpiece market is finally seeing forward movement.
A day after chief minister Sheila Dikshit called a meeting of stakeholders, the New Delhi Municipal Council sent out a warning that further delays will result in strict action. It also cancelled the contract of the contractor who left the façade work mid-way and had his performance bank guarantee of Rs. 1.2 crore seized.
On the ground, CP traders say work has picked up. “From Thursday, there has been increased activity. The numbers of labourers seems to have increased,” said Atul Bhargava, president, New Delhi Traders’ Association.
“We will ensure the December deadline is met,” said a senior NDMC official.
Meanwhile, the CBI, on the basis of its investigation, said NDMC could have saved itself some grief by doing the restoration work by itself instead of hiring a consultant.