500-km road stretches to be repaired by March: Parvesh

Delhi’s PWD Minister Parvesh Verma on Monday said the government will repair 500-km stretches of roads across the city by the month of March.

Earlier in the day, the minister, along with local MLAs and PWD officials, inspected South Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar and Amar Colony areas.

“By March, the Delhi Government will repair 500 kms of major road stretches across the national capital. Tenders are being floated. Broken roads, slip roads, footpaths and foot over bridges (FOBs) are also being repaired,” Verma said while talking to reporters.

Every year the city suffers from air pollution during the winter months, and one of the factors for the pollution is the dust generated on roads from moving vehicles.

“We have received Rs 800 crore from the Central Government, which is being utilised. Further, we also have an assurance from the Centre for more fund allocation in the future after this fund is spent on road and repair work,” Verma further said.

Earlier this year, under the road dust mitigation plan of the Delhi Government, Verma held a meeting with PWD officials, where the status of 153 ongoing road repair projects was reviewed.

Last month, the Central Government had approved Rs 803 crore for Delhi to take up road infrastructure-related projects. The funds were approved under the Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF).

The repair work would include recarpeting, patchwork, pothole repair and restoration of roads cut by other agencies. In Delhi, the PWD maintains 1,400 km of road length, which are 60-feet wide or above.