L-G : Identify erring officials behind delay in Najafgarh bridge project

New Delhi, December 14

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The Delhi Lieutenant-Governor VK Saxena on Thursday took ‘strong exception’ for inaccurate survey of land and expressed ‘displeasure’ over the inordinate delay of over three years in the land acquisition for the construction of four-lane bridge on the Najafgarh drain.

Around 130.48 square metres of land was to be acquired for the project and the survey of land was required to be undertaken at Badusarai village

Officials said, “The L-G has directed the Chief Secretary to identify officials responsible for the inaccurate survey of land and for inordinate delay in the entire land acquisition process and sought an Action Taken Report (ATR) within three weeks.”

The L-G noted that the project had been started without having requisite land parcels, due to which it has exceeded its stipulated timeline with a deadline on January 8, 2021.

“It was only in February 2022, that a request was made for the acquisition of land and the file for issuing notification under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (RFCTLAR&R) Act, 2013, has been submitted in December 2023, after passing a considerable time,” an official said.

He had already issued directions to the Land and Building (L&B) Department for convening regular meetings and preparation of a suitable SOP stipulating timelines with online monitoring mechanisms for execution and completion of schedule activities, said Saxena.