New Delhi: With the Commonwealth Games just
two months away, MCD is refusing approval to issue completion
certificate for the shooting venue of the mega event due to a
pending proposal for widening the road leading to it.
A proposal regarding layout plan of the Karni Singh
Stadium in Tughlakabad was postponed by a meeting of the MCD
Standing Committee today after the area councillor raised
objections. The MCD has already completed dense-carpeting of
the existing road leading to the venue.
Councillor Sarita Chaudhary had been demanding that the
widening of the road also be done along with the improvement,
but MCD officials argue that this will involve cutting of
trees and a prolonged procedural delay.
"According to the master plan of Delhi, the road should
be 60 m wide. They have now improved only the existing road
which is 10 metres wide. Road widening is important as it will
help ease the traffic congestion in the area. If they cannot
widen now, they should at least demarcate the area so that the
road can be expanded to 60 m later," she said.
The Standing Committee today refused to approve the
layout plan. "We will not approve it till the issue of road
widening is resolved," Chaudhary said.
MCD officials insist that the area where road widening is
being proposed by the councillor is part of the southern
ridge. "It will take a lot of time to get clearance related
to the Indian Forest Act as the road widening will involve
felling at least 1,000 trees," said a senior MCD official.
Chaudhary said, "It is not that trees were not cut for
any Games projects in Delhi. If we cut some trees, we can
plant double the number. But traffic situation is very bad on
the stretch and widening of the road is quite important. I
have been raising this issue for the last so many years but
nothing is being done," she said.
PTI
