'Delhi Will be Free of Traffic Jams by December 2020': Police Presents Two-Year Action Plan Before Supreme Court
The affidavit submitted by police before the apex court said there are 77 'bottleneck zones' in Delhi, as pointed by the team constituted by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal last year.
New Delhi, Sept 4: The Delhi Police presented a two-year action plan before the Supreme Court, assuring the bench that it will decongest the national capital by December 2020.
The affidavit submitted by police before the apex court said there are 77 "bottleneck zones" in Delhi, as pointed by the team constituted by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal last year.
28 of these roads, the police said, have been identified as "critically congested", followed by 30 which face mid-level congestion and 19 which are mildly congested.
The police said it would work on priority basis to decongest the first category, which includes prominent routes viz. Mehrauli-Badarpur, Aurobindo Marg, Mathura Road and Chirag Dilli Road.
In the next 8 months, the cops would work on improving the road geometrics of the critically congested roads, in order to bring immediate respite to the commuters.
The long-term measures, which includes building foot-over-bridges, underpasses, widening of roads and U-turns, would require six months for approval and 12 months for execution, the police told the court.
The bench comprising of Justices Madan B Lokur, S Abdul Nazeer and Deepak Gupta expressed satisfaction over the action plan presented by the police, directing them to directly approach the top court if they face hurdles in execution. The three civic bodies of Delhi have also been instructed to extend all necessary aid.
Timeline of de-congestion
The 10 most clogged roads, among the 28 identified as critically congested, are as follows:
- Motibagh-RTR: The police claims that the road will be decongested by September 2018, with the marking of no-tolerance zones.
- Mathura Road: Construction of FOB at Attali signal is expected to end the perennial jams, while widening of the road by December 2018 will lead to decongestion.
- Najafgarh Road: Three electric poles and the Uttam Nagar signal are to be removed, along with the widening of the road's peripheries. The deadline is December 2018.
- Ring Road: The route connecting from Hanuman Setu to Chandgi Ram Akhara is expected to be unclogged by December 2018 via demolition of bus stops and public toilet.
- Mehrauli-Badarpur Road: Removal of nine electric and three MTNL poles, along with widening of the roads and improving the geometrics is expected to make traffic smoother on this route. The deadline for decongestion is March 2019.
- Sarita Vihar Road: Widening of roads, along with installation of iron grilles is expected to decongest the road by February 2019.
- Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road: Relocation of a mazaar and shifting of 4 electric transformators comprises the action plan to unclog this roadway. The deadline is June 2019.
- Aurobindo Marg: As per the action-plan, the CNG station along the road will be shifted out, while the roadway will be widened. The deadline for the task is December 2019.
- Vikas Marg: The path between ITO Chungi to Karkari More will be decongested using multi-level parking and widening it to accommodate three-lanes. The task is scheduled to be completed by December 2020.
- GT Road: The path between Kashmere Gate to Apsara Road is planned to be congested by December 2020 through construction of a flyover, along with widening of the road.
In its action plan, the police said the seized vehicles lying outside the 180-odd police stations also contribute to congestion by occupying a chunk of the road space. Joint commissioner of police Alok Kumar said a plan is being formulated to get rid of the impounded vehicles, which amount to 30,444.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 04, 2018 10:02 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).