West Delhi Development in focus

The big movement

Atul Mathur, Hindustan Times
New Delhi, May 11, 2011

If you thought the "construction madness", which the Capital witnessed in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games, ended with the mega-event coming to an end, you are surely mistaken. The Delhi government is going to be busy with a number of road and infrastructure projects in the next few years. The

focus this time is going to be on west Delhi. According to public works department officials, of the 20-odd new roads and flyovers the department has planned, at least 14 are slated to come up on traffic choke points in west Delhi. These projects are on various stages of planning. Some of them have been cleared by the technical body. Most of them are expected to be ready by 2015.

The Delhi Metro's expansion plan in Phase 3 has also proposed two corridors to connect west Delhi with south Delhi and east Delhi. The existing Dwarka line will be extended up to Najafgarh and Gurgaon-Jehangirpuri line will move further in northwest Delhi up to Bawana.

In its recent report on 'transport demand forecast and development of public transport', Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES), a consultancy organisation in the fields of transport, infrastructure and related technologies, has suggested 350-kilometre of Bus Rapid Transit corridor and 40-km of light rail transit project to connect east and west Delhi. The report was commissioned by the government to understand the trend and likely increase in transport demand.

According to a senior transport department official, various residential pockets in west and northwest Delhi are densely populated but their connectivity with the rest of the Capital is poor.

"Unlike east Delhi and south Delhi – which is just a few kilometres from central Delhi – the Capital runs deep into the west and northwest. Long distances, congested roads and poor transport facilities make commuting difficult. There is an urgent need to have effective transport system and good roads," said an official.

With huge housing projects set to come up in areas like Najafgarh and Kanjhawala, experts suggest integrated transport system. "Compared to south Delhi, these areas are better placed in terms of traffic congestion. We have envisaged multi-modal transit system for these areas," former DDA planning commissioner AK Jain said.

However, transport expert PK Sarkar said constructing flyovers is not a solution for growing traffic problem. "There is an urgent need for a mass rapid transit system besides good feeder service to cater to west Delhi," he said.

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