It all began in November last year when construction activities in the national capital were banned following rising air pollution levels in northern India.
The prohibition was completely lifted on February 14. City’s major government infrastructure projects received a further blow in the form of deadly coronavirus disease (Covid-19), followed by the nationwide lockdown on March 25, forcing lakhs of migrant workers to leave for their native places on foot, cycles, motorcycles and later, trains and buses.
The exodus hampered government efforts to streamline Delhi’s traffic flow and make roads safer for pedestrians.
The Public Works Department (PWD), on the other hand, is running out of funds. Although construction works have begun at some places as the city entered unlock 1.0, the shortage of labour force remains a matter of concern for contractors.
The infrastructural works in the national capital have been moving a snail’s pace since June 1 when the lockdown 5.0 began.
Major projects such as Ashram underpass, Barapullah extension phase-3 from Sarai Kale Khan to Mayur Vihar, redevelopment of ITPO Pragati Maidan, the 1.2-km-long tunnel between Purana Qila road near Mathura Road and the Ring Road, flyover in Shastri Park and Seelampur have been severely hampered by the Covid-19 lockdown.
Besides, the projects under the AAP government’s pre-poll promises, including 2.1 lakh CCTV cameras and streetlights across the city for the safety of woman and children and streetscaping of the congested stretches that was expected to be completed by the end of this year, are also in limbo for the last nearly six months.
“Construction works have resumed, but the PWD doesn’t have enough money and the labour force. The budget for the quarterly period of April, May and June has been not released yet. It was to be released in the last week of March, that is when the lockdown was imposed. Thus, the amount has lapsed and some contractors have not even received the amount since January,” says a senior PWD official on condition of anonymity.
Most of the migrant labourers are from UP, Haryana, MP, Bihar and Jharkhand. But due to the pandemic, many have left the city, leaving us with a massive shortage of workforce, the official adds.
According to an official record with the Delhi government, there were 5.5 lakh registered migrant workers till 2018.
Of them, officials said the Delhi government has already sent around 4 lakh migrants to their home states in May. A large number of migrants left the city on their foot.
“Many of the projects are already behind their schedule,” the official says. Besides, maintaining social distancing by labourers at construction sites is a big challenge for contractors.“The streetscaping of Moolchand to Ashram Chowk was set to be completed by September. Now, with the works resuming after a long period, we aim to finish it by Diwali, but it will not be possible without money and manpower,” says another PWD official.
“Projects such as Ashram underpass and Barapullah extension phase-3 have already been delayed. The government itself has admitted that the big projects will be delayed by at least 1 or 2 years. Further, cost escalation will go between 25 and 50 per cent. More importantly, the government should infuse money to complete the projects. Even, if contractors receive any money upfront, the shortage of labourers will remain a challenge. We need a large number of labourers big projects,” said S Velmurugan, senior principal scientist and former head of the traffic engineering and safety division, Central Road Research Institute (CRRI).
Last month, Deputy CM Manish Sisodia has already said the government will release funds only for healthcare services and Covid-19-related works. The government has also sought an immediate assistance of Rs 5,000 crore from the Centre to pay salaries to its employees and meet its expenses as revenues have dried up during the lockdown.
Ashram underpass
The construction of the much-awaited 410-metre-long underpass, proposed by the PWD, at Ashram Chowk along the Mathura Road was started in December last year. The Rs 128.98-crore project also includes expansion of the Ashram flyover to the DND flyway to de-congest daily traffic jams on the route.The stretch sees more than three lakh vehicles every day and commuters are often stuck for about 45 minutes here.
“But, sadly the underpass is facing obstacles ever since it started. First, the construction activity was banned due to the air pollution in Delhi-NCR, then the CAA protest in Shaheen Bagh and now, the coronavirus outbreak. Even during the lockdown, we had tried to continue the work, but could not manage it for more than 10 days. Amid the crisis, migrant workers had started to leave the city,” says a senior PWD official.
The official says it may take another month before the six-lane Ashram flyover’s construction resumes.
The four-lane underpass is expected to end 41 per cent of traffic on that stretch.
About the project
Cost of the underpass: Rs 78 crore
Extension of the flyover: Rs 128.98 crore
Started: December 2019
Expected deadline then: December 2020
Expected deadline now: End of 2021
2.1 lakh CCTV cameras
Installation of CCTV cameras was a flagship project of the AAP government. It was one of its pre-poll promises. The installation was officially started in June 2019.According to the government, till March, about 1.4 lakh cameras were installed across the city and the remaining one lakh are set to be installed by the end of 2020.
But, due to the lockdown, the project could not pick up the pace.“A large number of CCTV cameras installed in Northeast Delhi were broken and damaged during the communal riots in February... The funds for the remaining cameras could not be released due to the lockdown,” says a Delhi government official.
Mukhyamantri Streetlight Yojana
The project was launched by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal before the assembly elections in December with an aim to install about 2.18 lakh streetlights. According to officials, till now, only up to 6,000 automatic-LED streetlights have been installed under the scheme.The government had aimed to install about 50,000-60,000 streetlights by February.“Maintaining social distancing is very difficult while installing streetlights. For instance, you need at least three-four persons to raise and install a pole. Also, there is a workforce crunch,” says a PWD official closely working on the project.
Delhi’s first tunnel road
The 1.2-km-long tunnel is the most awaited project and was said to be completed by January 2020. The PMO in June last year had asked the PWD to finish the construction by the deadline.Around 3.5 vehicles use this stretch via ITO.The underground tunnel will go beneath Pragati Maidan and connect India Gate near Purana Quila road and will pass through the Pragati Maidan Thermal Power Station. The tunnel will provide signal-free travel to commuters travelling froM and to from Noida, Ghaziabad, East Delhi, Jangpura via India Gate. Further, it aims to end the traffic jams at the ITO signal.“Seventy per cent of the work has been completed. Now, with the resuming of construction activity, the PWD expects to complete it by December-end,” said another PWD official. The cost of the project is Rs 777 crore.
Seelampur, Shastri Park flyovers
These flyovers were proposed to end the bottlenecks and chaos in parts East and North East Delhi such as Kashmere Gate, Shahdra, Welcome, Shastri Park, Seelampur and Khajoori Khas. The construction for the projects had started in 2019 and was expected to be completed by March this year.Officials said 80 per cent of the work is completed. “The communal riots and the coronavirus have halted the projects. But the flyovers are almost complete. The construction works have resumed and will be finished by Diwali, if everything goes according to the plan,” says an official.
Barapullah phase-3
An extension of Barapullah phase-1, the Rs 1260-crore project would help reduce traffic congestion in East Delhi. The project, 3.5-km- stretch, was started in 2015 and was scheduled to be completed by 2017, but the project stalled due to a dispute over a land acquisition near Yamuna flood plains. In 2019, the government had also issued a gazette notification for the land acquisition. “But, it got delayed due to various factors. Fifty per cent of the work is completed. The work here too has resumed, but the labour crunch poses a challenge,” says a government official.
Streetscaping
Last year, the Delhi government had launched a streetscaping of 10 most congested stretches on the standards of American and European style. The stretches included Ashram to Naraina, Vikas Marg to Narwana Road, Moti Bagh to Naraina, Britannia Chowk and others. The cost of these 10 stretches is Rs 500 crore (approximately).
Construction workers
The Centre for Holistic Development (CHD), an NGO, said according to the Delhi Building and Construction workers Board, around 5.5 lakh registered migrant workers in the city.“It is sad that the Delhi government has 7,786 registered contractors and has submitted in a court that there are about registered 40,000 construction workers. It has cited reasons that a labourer who has worked at least 90 days at a construction site will be eligible to get registered. But due to the lockdown, it could not register more workers. But my question is why didn’t it renew their registrations. Due to this mistake, lakhs of workers have been left with no food and shelter,” says Sunil Kumar Aledia, a founding member of the CHD.
Govt’s focus only on healthcare services
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has already said the government will release funds only for healthcare services and Covid-19-related works. Last month, he said even if the lockdown is totally lifted, no government project would take off for at least two to three months. The government has also sought an immediate assistance of `5,000 crore from the Centre to pay salaries to its employees and meet its expenses as revenues have dried up during the lockdown
