Sisodia revives Shahjahanabad redev plan, visits walled city

NEW DELHI, Aug 4: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia today visited the walled city to revive the Shahjahanabad redevelopment plan which was cleared in 2007 by the previous government for giving a facelift to old Delhi area but later put on the backburner. According to a senior official, after a meeting of the Board of Directors of Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation (SRDC), Sisodia decided to visit the old Delhi area to understand the road blocks in carrying out redevelopment work. In a series of tweets, Sisodia said, "Not only do we need to develop this area but will have to ensure that historic buildings also remain safe. Encroachment and filth are the major problems of the area." During his two-hour-long visit to the walled city, the Deputy Chief Minister said he found a lot of scope for work and has asked various departments to check problem areas during different times of the day. "We don't believe in making a development plan sitting in an air-conditioned room like the previous government. To know the facts, we visit each road, bylanes and market place to take public opinion. "Today, we carried out an inspection early in the morning and soon we will visit the area during the day and night so that we can understand the issues of Shahjahnabad area properly," he said. Sisodia also asked the team of officials which visited the site with him to ensure that cultural and historic value of the area is restored and preserved. Senior officials of various departments along with board of directors of SRDC visited the area with him. According to officials, Municipal Corporation of Delhi was in 2007 tasked with drafting a redevelopment proposal. However, the Congress Government led by the then Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit decided to take over the project. The Shahajanabad Redevelopment Corporation (SRC) was created by the government and the first phase of the plan was inaugurated by the then Chandni Chowk MP Kapil Sibal in 2011. "Shahajaanabad Redevelopment Corporation has not moved a step ahead in last eight years. Its purpose was beautification of Chandni Chowk and Jama Masjid areas. A lot of money was spent but its use is not visible," AAP MLA from Chandi Chowk Alka Lamba said. She also said that government is planning to strengthen SRDC by giving it more powers like NDMC and cantonment board. "We are planning to impart more power to SRDC by making it a dedicated corporation for walled city. This will work exactly the way NDMC and cantonment board works. At present there is multiplicity of agencies," Lamba said. She emphasised that the government has plans to restore 525 havelis in the area which have turned into godowns and some heritage buildings which have been damaged. The aim of the project was to do beautification and redevelopment of walled city. This included restoration of old buildings. The salient features of the project include creation of pedestrian-oriented space in Chandni Chowk, which will be seen as a catalyst for revitalising economic, infrastructural and tourism potential of Shahjahanabad. In addition to this, new landscape, better lighting and paving would be done. Services would be organised below road surface so that no over ground services are visible. Provision of toilets would also be made with regular water facility. Recently DMRC also proposed a 4.3 km tram-line in the congested Chandni Chowk area of which 1.6 km will have to be elevated due to lack of space.