To Decongest Delhi, Centre Is Planning Projects Worth Rs 50,000 Crore, Says Gadkari

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari has said that the central government will take up projects worth an estimated Rs 50,000 crore to decongest the capital, which is battling water and air pollution, reports The New Indian Express.

Gadkari laid the foundation stone for a highway project costing an estimated Rs 2,820 crore that will link Eastern Peripheral Expressway (EPF) junction on Baghpat Road to Akshardham.

The highway will be developed in two packages - a 14.75-km stretch beginning from Akshardham and leading to the Delhi/UP border - and a 16.57-km stretch leading to the EPE intersection.

The project includes the construction of six-lane service roads on either side of the highway along with eight new underpasses, 15 major junctions, seven ramps connecting major junctions, 34 minor junctions, and overbridges at New Delhi-Anand Vihar railway lines, Dilshad Garden-ISBT Metro Line and Delhi-Shahdara.

“Delhi is facing a problem of air and water pollution. Frequent traffic jams have also become a problem. We have decided to start work on Rs 50,000-crore highway project to decongest the city,” Gadkari said on Saturday (26 January).

An estimated Rs 10,000 crore will be spent to build the Dwarka Expressway, he said.

He also added that work on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway will be completed by March. People will be able to reach Meerut from Delhi in 40 minutes, instead of an earlier three hours, he said.