New Delhi: Repairs are likely to be undertaken on several key stretches across Delhi as the Public Works Department (PWD) has resumed work on its plan of a “pothole-free city“. Some of these stretches are CV Raman Marg, Gurdwara Road and Mehrauli-Badarpur Road.
In Oct, Delhi govt initiated a project to make Delhi free of potholes, however, due to the implementation of GRAP IV norms on Nov 17, the work came to a halt. Supreme Court relaxed anti-pollution restrictions from GRAP IV to GRAP II on Dec 5.
Residents have urged govt to ensure proper traffic management during the work to avoid inconvenience to commuters. “While carrying out the work on roads, PWD should manage the traffic in a better way. Commuters faced problems on several occasions in the past,” said Chetan Sharma, chairman of Federation of GK II Complex RWAs.
A PWD official said that specific guidelines, including presence of marshals and coordination with police, for traffic management were in place. These are mandatory for the contractors to follow.
The department manages all the main roads of the city, and for the maintenance of these roads, a budget is allocated every year. In the recent revised budget estimates, an additional amount of Rs 75 crore for road strengthening was allocated by finance minister Atishi.
The PWD official added that many road stretches required a fresh bituminous layer and proper scrapping of the existing broken layer, followed by a fresh layer on top.