Delhi: ₹99-crore Chandni Chowk road revamp in tatters

One of the flagship projects of the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, the redevelopment of the stretch was carried out between 2019 and 2021

New Delhi

The stretch, a non-motorised and pedestrian-friendly space on paper, was serving as an illegal parking zone, HT found during a spot check on Tuesday. (Arvind Yadav/HT Photo)

With garbage strewn all around, rickshaws crowding pavements and uninviting paan-stained street furniture, the main Chandni Chowk Avenue Road between the Red Fort and Fatehpuri mosque is in a shambles, despite it being revamped for ₹99 crore as a model of urban rejuvenation as recently as September 2021.

The stretch, a non-motorised and pedestrian-friendly space on paper, was serving as an illegal parking zone, HT found during a spot check on Tuesday.

Traders and residents’ groups urgently sought the intervention of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

Sixty-eight-year-old Sanjay Bhargava, the president of the Chandni Chowk Sarv Vyapar Mandal, said: “The situation is alarming; it has become a pathetic state of affairs. It is difficult for shopkeepers and visitors to operate on a day-to-day basis. The area faces problems of sanitation, unauthorised construction, encroachment, and a lack of space to walk due to excessive traffic. People have to watch out for mobile snatching and unsocial elements; there are incidents of harassment as well. Chandni Chowk is deteriorating day by day.”

In the second phase, the façade restoration was expected to be taken up by SRDC and PWD to provide a uniform facade to the market along the redeveloped stretch. Since 2021, not only has the second phase of the project failed to take off, but the gains made in the first phase are also being lost.

Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh said he will undertake an inspection of the entire stretch in the next three days. “We will inspect the entire stretch with senior officials to check what kind of interventions can be made to improve its upkeep. Weekly inspections will be carried out at different times to ensure the maintenance improves,” the mayor said.

PWD did not comment on the matter.

During the spot check, HT found a total lack of maintenance and a poor disregard for rules. The red sandstone fixtures and bollards were damaged and stained. A green belt on the central verge was poorly kept, with a part of the railing missing in several sections. The surface at many points, such as the clock market, was dug up but never restored.

Bara Singha, who runs an umbrella shop along the stretch, blamed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) for poor upkeep. Pointing at blackened red stone slabs, he said that many barriers installed around the green islands further down the road were missing or broken, with a large number of plants having dried up.

Parts of the pavements were occupied by vendors selling clothes, snacks, toys, and other items.

Sahil Khan, 39, a visitor, said that a plan for incorporating dedicated spaces for vendors should be made. “Something should be done for them, too. After all, where will they go if they are removed?” Khan said.

Although the number of rickshaws for the small stretch was capped at 350, the number was much higher. A letter from the Chandni Chowk Nagrik Manch claims the area has become a “rickshaw island”, claiming that over 2,000 unauthorised rickshaws operate on the road, despite the corporation allowing only 350. The letter also highlighted that the sidewalks had been taken over by illegal encroachments.

Conceived by the Congress government in 2006, the ₹99-crore project was launched after a prolonged delay in December 2018, on the directions of the Delhi high court. The Public Works Department (PWD) started work on the project in March 2019 and faced several revisions of deadlines, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The infrastructure on the redeveloped stretch is managed by the PWD, while the MCD is expected to oversee its sanitation. Until last year, sanitation work of the revamped stretch was managed by a private company hired by the PWD, which had deployed 200 workers for its upkeep. After a standoff between PWD and MCD created a sanitation crisis last September, the municipality finally took over the management of the area.

Pradeem Gehlog, 52, who has been working at a clothing shop on the road for around 19 years, said municipal workers rarely cleaned the area, and they often leave garbage cans overturned. “The problems in Chandni Chowk can definitely be fixed, if we take strict action. I clean the area near my shop every day. People still litter, but the workers of neighbouring shops and I put them in the dustbin ourselves. We are all responsible for the cleanliness of our own surroundings.”