New Delhi, Aug 9 (IANS) Call it the result of lack of coordination among various agencies tasked with Commonwealth Games-related projects or the large volume of construction work, but Delhi is all set to miss the Aug 10 deadline of clearing debris from city roads.
Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta said already 80,000 tonnes of debris have been cleared from the city roads and stressed that Delhi will meet the deadline.
However, seeing much of the debris clearing work still to be done, it seems the government will take some 7-8 more days to clear the roads.
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had in June set a final deadline of Aug 10 for clearing the roads of debris and Aug 31 for the completion of all the Games-related projects.
The places where debris could still be found are Civil lines, Pandara Road, Ring Road, around Talkatora Stadium, Jawaharlal Nehru stadium, Connaught Place and many other areas in central Delhi.
A government official said the delay is due to lack of coordination among the agencies as many of them go for last-minute digging work.
‘Besides, the large volume of debris on city roads is the result of construction activities taken up across the capital,’ the official added.
Debris on roads have added to the woes of commuters who have to face traffic jams, including during rains.
The chief secretary had earlier said that a private company IL&FS was contacted to clear the waste as the agencies concerned were dumping the debris in each other’s land.
As a result, he said, the waste was accumulating on the roads, adding to the government’s problems.
‘We found that Public Works Department was dumping debris in MCD land. Other agencies like DDA and NDMC too were doing the same thing. Accordingly, malba (waste) was leaving the area under those agencies jurisdiction but not the city. Everyday we are clearing 2,000-3,000 tonnes of debris from city roads,’ Mehta had said.
