The BJP on Saturday demanded Lieutenant-Governor Anil Baijal’s intervention in ensuring that the Delhi government expedited the construction of the Ashram underpass and the Pragati Tunnel, which have been under construction for the last few years. Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Legislative Assembly Ramvir Singh Bidhuri sought to draw attention to the problems faced by people due to the “slowness and negligence” in the construction of the two Public Works Department (PWD) projects in the city.
“Work on the Ashram Underpass has been going on for three years and Pragati Maidan Tunnel for five years. Due to these projects, people are stuck in traffic jams for hours,” Mr. Bidhuri said, adding that the routes remained congested not only throughout the day, but till late night too.
He questioned why the government was “taking so long to build only 750-metre-long underpasses” at Ashram and said the “continuous sluggishness of tunnel work” at Pragati Maidan led to people getting stuck in jams on Ring Road for 30 to 40 minutes. He also requested the L-G to convene a meeting of the officials looking after the projects and order the construction work to be completed soon.
Meanwhile, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor wrote to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asking him to reconsider the Delhi government’s decision to increase circle rates.
“The real estate sector is facing acute financial crisis for the last 2-3 years. Sale and purchase of property are at their lowest ebb. Since last week, there has been news of the Delhi government withdrawing the 20% relaxation and further raising property circle rates by 30%,” Mr. Kapoor said. Any increase in property circle rates now would break the backbone of the real estate business in Delhi, which is already facing a sales crisis, he added.
