NEW DELHI: With the long-awaited Chandni Chowk pedestrianisation and beautification project inching towards completion, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (North MCD) has also started planning for improvement of 28 internal lanes — about 11 km — of the Walled city in north and south of the historic market.
The civic agency has proposed installation of street furniture, lights, dedicated space for unloading and loading of goods, e-rickshaw stands, and corridors for walkers.
As per the rough estimate prepared by the corporation, two benches at a gap of 20 metres (m), concrete seating around trees, lights to lit pedestrian corridors at every 10 m, and tree grating at all existing and new trees — to be planted — have also been planned.
A senior NMCD official, privy to the plan, said that the project would roughly cost Rs 31 crore. “The plan is at the initial stage. We have planned a lot of things but financial constraint is the biggest challenge. Efforts are being made to arrange funds,” said the official, requesting anonymity. The list of streets — to be taken up for redevelopment — comprises 17 narrow lanes, which are mainly for pedestrian movements.
Krishna Gali in Katra Neel, which is only three-metre (m) wide and 240 m long, is one such example. A couple of prominent streets such as Church Mission Road (22 m wide and 355 m long), Swami Vivekanand Marg in Khari Baoli (22m wide and 525 m long), Shanti Desai Marg (12.5 m wide and 465 m long) and Rai Kedanath Marg (12.5 m wide and 465 m long), where vehicular movement is possible, are also the part of the project.
A few longest stretches in the Walled city area — Ballimaran Road (870 m), Nai Sadak (730 m), More Sarai Road (560 m), and Kinari Bazaar Road (870 m) — too have been included in the estimate prepared by the NMC. Since the beginning of Chandni Chowk redevelopment project (December 2018), various resident welfare associations (RWAs) and traders’ bodies of the area have been seeking rejuvenation of internal lanes of Shahjahanabad along similar lines. Recently, Ballimaran MLA Imran Hussain, also the minister in Delhi cabinet and local councillor Mohammad Sadiq wrote the chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and PWD Satyendar Jain respectively in this regard.
Sadiq had earlier said that Kejriwal had agreed to the demand. “All the stakeholders are on the same page. The plan for improvement of internal lanes and rough estimate was presented in the meeting called by Hussain at Delhi secretariat,” said a government official, who is aware of the development.