Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi, displeased with the broken roads falling under the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, on Saturday directed the civic body Commissioner Ashwani Kumar to share the status of road maintenance and construction within the coming two days.
Oberoi has issued the two days ultimatum to the civic body’s top official seeking a comprehensive update on the city’s road maintenance, and voicing strong concerns over the disrepair of Delhi’s roads, the Mayor warned that further delays could exacerbate the city’s pollution crisis.
She has also called for a detailed report on the budget allocations for road projects in the financial year 2024- 25.
In a written communication to Kumar, the Mayor stated, “It has come to my notice that most MCD roads in colonies all over Delhi are in serious disrepair. Not only is this making travel difficult for all the residents of Delhi but it has also put residents at increased risk of accidents due to potholes. Besides, broken roads also lead to increased suspension of road dust, which is a major contributor to air pollution in Delhi.”
Oberoi further mentioned that it is unacceptable that such a routine matter of maintenance and construction of MCD roads in the city is not being carried out in a timely manner.
The Mayor further mentioned, “The MCD has kept a budgetary provision of Rs 1,000 crore fund for road maintenance and another Rs 500 crore under the Mayor’s discretionary funds, to be utilized for the revamp of MCD roads in the current financial year 2024-25,” she added.
The Mayor has directed the civic body official to submit information on what are the different budget heads under which funds for road projects have been allocated in the financial year 2024-25, and also the status of the expenditure till present date.
Secondly she has asked as to what are the reasons for the money not being spent from the budget head meant for maintenance or construction of roads.
She has also sought a report on road projects approved by her through the Mayor’s discretionary fund.