This story is from July 13, 2016

Chandni Chowk revival plan receives fresh jolt

Ten years, two 'inaugurations' and innumerable meetings later, the ambitious redevelopment plan to decongest Delhi's Chandni Chowk area, the iconic market, has hit yet another hurdle, with the chief architect opting out of the project.
Chandni Chowk revival plan receives fresh jolt
The ambitious Chandni Chowk redevelopment plan to decongest the iconic market has hit yet another hurdle.
Key Highlights
  • Abhimanyu Dalal, the architect who prepared the Chandni Chowk redevelopment plan has opted out of the project
  • Senior government officials admitted Dalal's departure was a huge setback
  • Architect Pradeep Sachdeva, who is doing the Jama Masjid redevelopment plan, has been asked to take over the project
NEW DELHI: Ten years, two 'inaugurations' and innumerable meetings later, the ambitious Chandni Chowk redevelopment plan to decongest the iconic market has hit yet another hurdle. Architect Abhimanyu Dalal, who prepared the detailed project report and has been associated with the project since its conception in 2006, has opted out. Shahjanabad Redevelopment Corporation has now asked architect Pradeep Sachdeva, who is doing the Jama Masjid redevelopment plan, to take over the project.
Dalal said he was quitting out of frustration and did not see a future for the much-delayed project.
Dalal said the project's vision was being diluted to a simple road improvement scheme. Intentions were good but I realised the project just wasn't moving forward,“ Dalal said.
Dalal said SRDC was initially launched as a special purpose vehicle (SPV) but its role had been decreased considerably . “Multiple agencies were involved and SRDC's role was to coordinate between all of them, but it never happened. There was a lot of pressure to start work but decisions just never happened. The project ran into delay after delay , countless meetings were held, but it didn't seem to be going anywhere. There was so much planning involved and it's a pity,“ said Dalal.
Dalal also did not fully agree with the government over certain changes being made in the redevelopment plans.
“We wanted cycle-rickshaws to be contained to one side of Chandni Chowk as this was primarily a pedestrianisation project, and the remaining be for pedestrians only. While this was accepted and approved by all agencies, it never happened,“ Dalal said then the tram proposal came in.
“We found it unviable. DMRC proposed a Rs 850 crore project running at high speed. This was not feasible for a congested area like Chandni Chowk. We wanted to replicate old trams, slow moving heritage trams on single tracks. Then we wanted to move all services like fire hydrants, water pipes, cables service, transformers underground which would be accessible through a tunnel. This would help prevent theft, prevent redundancy and made maintenance easier. The present government appeared serious about this and was looking at costing, but nobody took a call. And this too never happened,“ he said.

Senior government officials admitted Dalal's departure was a huge setback. “There were differences which just didn't work out. And no one can deny that the Chandni Chowk project has been delayed year after year, first under the Congress for over five years, and is now moving just as slowly under the AAP government,'' said an official.
A few weeks ago, the government took a decision to move SRDC under the PWD and sources said this led to more bureaucratic problems and delays. Dalal's plans for Chandni Chowk has got clear ances from stakeholders like UTTIPEC, DUAC, NDMC and SRDC. Officials said they would be going ahead with the plans already in progress.
“It's not possible to prepare a new plan. The earlier plan has been approved at several levels and discussed in many meetings,“ said an official.
Pradeep Sachdeva will be dividing his time between the Jama Masjid and Chandni Chowk projects. Confirming he had been asked to take over the Chandni Chowk redevelopment project, Sachdeva said: “We have started surveys and carrying on further studies. We don't want to start afresh and we will build on the work that has already been done in Chandni Chowk.''
The plan for Chandni Chowk was initially meant to be completed before the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Residents and traders say the area has become even more congested in the past few months, and encroachments are rapidly increasing. Slow progress also drew the ire of the high court, which directed agencies like PWD and BSES Yamuna to remove encroachments.
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