NEW DELHI: Overhead electricity wiring will be removed from as many as 125 colonies and a total of 26 roads in Chandni Chowk after the Delhi government approved a proposal to shift and underground power lines.
The Delhi government has given the green light to proposals for shifting and undergrounding high tension (HT) and low tension (LT) electricity lines in different parts of the national capital, in a move aimed at improving public safety and strengthening power infrastructure.
According to a statement, projects worth around Rs 463 crore have been cleared under the initiative. Of this, works in 125 colonies and localities across various Assembly constituencies will be taken up at an estimated cost of Rs 267.20 crore. Further, overhead wires along 26 roads in the Chandni Chowk area will be undergrounded at an estimated cost of about Rs 159.47 crore.
As a pilot project, the undergrounding of overhead wires has already been completed in the BH Block of Shalimar Bagh and C-4 East Block, Janakpuri and the model will be replicated in other areas in a phased manner, it added. In 2025, approvals amounting to Rs 37.63 crore were granted for 15 proposals related to the undergrounding of overhead lines, as per the statement.
Power Minister Ashish Sood said the main objective of the decision is to remove unsafe overhead lines passing through residential and densely populated areas to reduce risks to human life and ensure a safer and more reliable power distribution system. Sood also said that an approval of around Rs 109 crore has been granted for 13 proposals related to shifting of HT and LT lines in Delhi.