The original deadline for its completion was 2010 before the Commonwealth Games.
The Delhi High Court has directed time-bound construction of the Rani Jhansi grade separator which was scheduled to be finished by 2010 for the Commonwealth Games. It has missed several deadlines and has still not been completed till date.
The court's direction comes on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Arpit Bhargava, which had sought directions to take immediate steps in constructing the Rani Jhansi grade separator/flyover by removing all obstacles in its construction within a time-bound manner.
The PIL, filed in 2014, had also requested the court to direct the Delhi Traffic Police to ensure smooth movement of traffic covering Rani Jhansi Road, Bara Hindu Rao, DCM chowk, Azad Market, Baraf Khana Chowk to St.Stephen's Hospital/Tis Hazari court, in view of the larger public interest being served by roads/ flyovers for proper connectivity.
The flyover, which comes under the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, has shown no sign of completion after it was conceived 20 years ago. The idea was mooted in 1998, but the construction began only in November 2008.
The original deadline for its completion was 2010 before the Commonwealth Games, but it was not met.
Soon after the project was approved, several people whose houses were to be relocated and those having properties in the area had approached the high court took a stay on the demolition of their structures. Several petitions had also been filed seeking enhanced compensation after the land acquisition.
While directing the concerned authorities, the high court held that"the pendency of these proceedings and the interim orders, granted, have resulted in a situation where a concededly public purposed project, i.e., construction of a grade separator, has been held up".
The court also said that the claim of reliefs is"entirely misconceived" and "untenable" and dismissed the pleas filed by several people with certain directions to the Public Works Department among other authorities.
"The respondent authorities are directed to complete the process of verification of the petitioners'(those seeking quashing of land acquisition) claims for alternative accommodation/plots within a reasonable time and in any case, not later than March 31," the court said in its order pronounced this month.
In May this year, the Lieutenant Governor (LG) had visited the site and stated that the flyover would be completed by October 15. Due to the prolonged delay, the project cost has escalated from Rs 177 crore to Rs 724.22 crore.
IMPEDIMENTS TO FLYOVER
- Handing over of private property land by LAC/GNCTD
- Exchange of land with Railways.
- Exchange of land with DUSIB (Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board)
- Shifting of MCD and GNCTD schools, markets etc.
- Taking over of land from St Stephen Hospital and M/s DCM Ltd etc
- Permission to cut more than 612 trees
- Shifting of 5 Transformers of power distribution companies, including street light poles/ HT power cables etc.
- Shifting of 4 Nos of rising water mains of dia 900 mm to 1100 mm & shifting of numerous small size of water lines, trunk sewer/small size sewers
- Shifting of numerous MTNL cables
- Shifting of DTC bus stops
LAND ISSUES
- The acquired land was partly handed over in phases up to the year 2015. The remaining land is still to be handed over by L&B department and held up on account of status quo granted by the Delhi High Court.
- Handing over of 102 sqm land at Beri Wala Bagh and 700 sqm land at Model Basti is pending as on date.
- An area of 124 sqm is yet to be acquired at Model Basti.
- The issue of land with the Railway was settled only in the year 2016, except for some minor issues.
TIMELINE
Project mooted in 1998
Construction started in 2006
Deadline for the project- 2010
Estimated Cost- Rs 177 crore
Amount spent till date - Rs 724 crore
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