Matter in court, nightmare not fixed for over three years

New Delhi: The Mehrauli-Mahipalpur Road, on which a 45-year-old man was crushed by a speeding tanker after he fell into a big pothole, has been a driver’s nightmare for the past three-and-a-half years.
In January 2013, PWD undertook the work of expanding the road but within days, residents objected to the massive tree felling that started and it came to light that the agency did not have permission from the forest department to cut trees.Since then, while residents and PWD have been battling the matter in court, commuters have been left with a dusty stretch of road with massive potholes and often, trees that spring up in the middle of the carriageway.
At present, PWD is in the process of appointing another contractor, the first having quit after the project had been on hold for more than two years.
“There was a walkout clause in the contract which allowed the contractor to leave after six months if the government was unable to provide a clear space for work. We have issued another tender and will appoint a new contractor soon,” said an official.
The other major hurdle for the agency is to acquire land near the Chhatarpur metro station. “The demarcation needs to be done and an SDM is working on the acquisition issue. Meanwhile, the PWD minister has asked us to begin work since it is going to be a long procedure,” the official added.
In January 2013, after protests by residents, the forest department found that a large number of trees had been felled illegally by a PWD contractor. Several others had been left extremely damaged, with their roots exposed. Despite orders from the then CM and the PWD top brass, the contractor continued digging work for some more days. To date, most of this has not been repaired.
Sources said that a section of residents who were against the project approached both high court and NGT. At least four cases were reportedly filed. The matter being sub judice, nobody wanted to touch the project. Another section of residents wrote to the additional principal chief conservator of forests proposing that they would help in monitoring the compensatory plantation process undertaken by PWD.
The HC-appointed amicus curiae, Sunita Narain, prepared a plan under which 298 trees could be saved in the course of widening the road.