Delhi government has its eyes set on a mega infrastructure project that is going to completely transform the state of roads in the national capital. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has revealed that the project will involve an expenditure of Rs 4,500 crore in the first year of its implementation and then Rs 2,000 crore every year, from then on. Let’s dig into the infrastructural problems that the Delhi government is going to work on and how!
Need for better maintenance of Delhi roads
The regular repair and maintenance of roads are necessary for day-to-day smooth transportation. It plays a significant role in the socio-economic development of the country. The state government will be transforming about 1,400 km of roads that come under the jurisdiction of the Delhi Public Works Department. In fact, if there are any faults or shortcomings while implementing the transformation work, heavy penalties will be imposed on the contractor. According to the report, the footpaths will also be repaired whenever and wherever found necessary.
How will this infra push reduce accidents in Delhi?
In 2021, the Delhi Traffic police identified 87 cluster points as crash-prone zones in Delhi. The top 10 accident-prone roads are Outer Ring Road, Ring Road, Rohtak Road, GTK Road, Najafgarh Road, Wazirabad Road, NH-8, Mathura Road, Grand Trunk Road, and Mehrauli Badarpur Road. Once the national capital gets the infra push it desperately needs, chances are that the number of accidents are going to reduce dramatically.
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How will the plan be executed? A roadmap to Delhi’s infra boost
For this necessary orders will be issued by March 20 and the work will be commenced on April 01, 2023. The repair work will be completed within six months and on completion, a 10-year maintenance contract will be put in place. The government has also decided to wash all roads and footpaths on a daily basis or thrice a week. The govt also planned to repair the railings and light fittings in subways and foot over bridges.
A safe road infrastructure reduces the chances of road accidents. The new initiative of the city government will help to reduce the causes of accidents while driving vehicles. In 2021, due to poor road conditions, eight crashes were reported in Delhi. Five deaths were reported due to faulty road design which includes a lack of central verge, sharp curves, and road signs.
How will infra growth in Delhi affect vehicle registration?
The number of vehicles has already seen a significant rise in the national capital in recent years. With more boost to infra, people are expected to go ahead and buy their own vehicles rather than preferring to travel via public transport. At present, there are more than 122.53 lakh registered vehicles. In 2021, a total of 3.60 lakh vehicles have been registered. In 1981, nearly 62 lakh vehicles were registered. In comparison to the vehicular population, the total road length in the national capital is 33,198 km.