The Delhi High Court was on Friday informed by Public Works Department (PWD) that the long-delayed Signature Bridge across the Yamuna will be completed by October, after which a trial will be conducted.
A Bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and Justice V.K. Rao asked the authorities to file a status report while fixing the matter for November 14.
The court had earlier frowned upon the two State government departments for “quibbling” over the amount to be paid for construction of the “long-overdue” Signature Bridge.
Cost of project
It had directed the chairperson of the Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC) and the Chief of Engineering of the PWD to physically inspect the bridge and the alternatives provided to the citizens to satisfy themselves about the construction.
The bridge connects Delhi with Uttar Pradesh’s industrial areas, such as Tronica City in Ghaziabad.
The court was earlier informed by the PWD that it had already paid ₹1,344 crore for the project against ₹544 crore, the cost initially agreed upon, and now the DTTDC was asking for additional ₹200 crore.
The DTTDC, on the other hand, told the court that the cost of the project had escalated.
The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) by advocate Pratibha Chopra, who pointed to the inordinate delay in the project and alleged that construction of the bridge had missed several deadlines since 2011.
Announced in 2004, the project received a nod from the Delhi Cabinet in 2007 and was expected to be completed at a modified estimate of ₹1,131 crore in time for the Commonwealth Games, held here in October 2010.
The cost of the project rose to ₹1,594 crore in 2015. Reportedly, the bridge was proposed for the first time in 1997 at an initial cost of ₹464 crore.
When completed, Signature Bridge is expected to share the burden of vehicular traffic being borne by the Wazirabad Bridge, which the PWD stated requires “structural rehabilitation and strengthening”.
