NDMC revives plan to make Connaught Place vehicle-free

"Failed once? No matter. Try again," said the New Delhi Municipal Council chairman Naresh Kumar to his men, asking them to revive the plan of making Connaught Place, which gets around 5 lakh visitors daily, a vehicle-free zone.

Kumar has written to his subordinates to carry out a feasibility study again and make a detailed plan and layout to decongest the heritage shopping arcade. He swung into action after the Urban Development Ministry expressed their unhappiness over non-implementation of the proposal.

In 2016, then Urban and Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu had announced that the middle and inner circles of the British-era built site would be no-vehicle zones for three months, on an experimental basis, to decongest the area. But due to stiff resistance from traders, inadequate parking facilities and lack of foolproof traffic management, the plan was not implemented.

The NDMC had citied that there were a lot of lacunae in the plan and a thorough preparation was required to make the area vehicle-free. But the matter was put in cold storage until this week, when Kumar directed his officials to make the plan a success this time.

Kumar has asked for a watertight plan that addresses the problems of all the stakeholders. The proposal is to make the middle and inner circles of CP no-vehicle zones for three months, on an experimental basis.

Once implemented, the NDMC will start the process to replicate in the popular Khan Market.

The NDMC is planning to imitate London, Montreal and Copenhagen where there are areas where no vehicles are allowed.

TRADERS RESISTED THE PLAN EARLIER

The ambitious plan of the Central government to make the British-era Connaught Place a vehicle-free zone was stuck due to massive protests from traders who cited loss of business to resist it.