Road projects worth Rs 1.04 lakh crore planned to decongest Delhi: Nitin Gadkari

New Delhi, July 23 (IANS) Aiming to decongest Delhi, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has taken up projects with an aggregate length of 2,105 km costing Rs 1.04 lakh crore, Minister Nitin Gadkari said in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

Replying to a question by BJP’s South Delhi MP Ramvir Singh Bidhuri in Lok Sabha, Gadkari said the plan also includes projects for decongestion of the National Capital’s southern areas.

The projects planned include a six-lane greenfield corridor from DND (Delhi-Noida-Direct Flyway)-Faridabad-Sonha for Rs 4,583 crore and construction of a six-lane road tunnel at Shiv Murti to connect Dwarka Expressway (NH-248BB) and NH 48 with Nelson Mandela Marg, Vasant Kunj, for Rs 6,969.67 crore.

The Road Transport and Highways Minister said that in addition to the above, to decongest South Delhi, the Union government has taken up proposals for upgradation/ development of corridors including: Ashram Chowk to Badarpur Border; Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road; INA to Mahipalpur and Construction of an interchange at Kalindi Kunj Junction up to Okhla Barrage.

The cost of these projects and the timelines for their execution are determined based on the outcome of the feasibility study carried out under the Detailed Project Reports, followed by sanction of the project by the competent authority, said Gadkari.

He said the development and maintenance of National Highways is a continuous process.

“New projects are taken up depending upon techno-economic feasibility of the proposals, traffic density and synergy with the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan,” he said.

In his question, Bidhuri had sought to know the total expenditure likely to be incurred on various projects to decongest South Delhi, including making the Mathura Road from Ashram Chowk to Badarpur Border and the Mehrauli-Gurgaon Road signal-free, construction of an elevated road from INA to Mahipalpur and construction of a tunnel from Vasant Kunj Nelson Mandela Road to Shiv Murti.

–IANS

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