Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday announced a complete world-class transformation of Delhi’s roads starting April 1.

“For many years and months, I have been personally working on a project that now seems to be coming to fruition. We have resolved to make Delhi’s road class-apart, aesthetic and commuter friendly. We took up several pilot projects for the cause and finally have zeroed down upon our long term path towards this,” said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal while addressing a press conference.

“We are transforming a total of 1,400-km of roads that come under the jurisdiction of the Delhi PWD. The PWD has jurisdiction only upon roads wider than 18 m (45ft) across the national capital, and we will leave no stone unturned to transform them,” he said.

Kejriwal had chaired a high level meeting to review the road transformation project where senior officials including Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and department officials were present.

Announcing the project at the press conference, Kejriwal said broken pavements, central verges, manholes, slabs, signage, electric poles, railings, lights and FOBs will be repaired along with maintenance of broken roads and potholes under the project.

“Often, to loot public money, governments order the whole pavement to be replaced even if a single stone breaks, but we will not do this, we will conduct spot-repairs and save money,” the Chief Minister said.

He said that the agency will be given a 10-year contract for maintenance and upkeep, which will be responsible for repairing any damage within 24 hours.

Kejriwal said every road will be resurfaced twice in 10 years and road markings, zebra crossing and footpaths will be repainted every three to six months.

The Chief Minister said roads, footpaths, trees and plants will be washed three days a week with mechanical sweeping, deep scrubbing and litter picking every day.

Kejriwal said deep scrubbing machines, 150 tanker-sprinklers along with 100 mechanised road sweepers will be hired for PWD roads.

He said that a total of 250 anti-smog-gun-cum-sprinklers will be hired to wash the roads of 250 wards of MCD all the trees and plants along the side.

Kejriwal said treated water from sewage treatment plants of Delhi Jal Board will be used to wash the roads.

He said third party monitoring will be systemised with vehicles fitted with cameras, if any shortcoming is found, the contractor will be fined heavily.

“There will be a centralised complaint system, where any person can complain if he sees any dirt, mud or potholes on the road,” said Kejriwal.

“About Rs 4,500 crore will be spent in the first year and then Rs 2,000 crore will be spent every year on the project. In the next 10 days, all the proposals will be approved by the cabinet and all the work will start from April 1,” said the Chief Minister.

The project aims to re-define the maintenance standards of the urban roads across the city and set a new benchmark of world class maintenance for urban roads across the country. This road repair and maintenance project will be a major benefit for the citizens of Delhi.

The agency will be working to ensure that the roads are always safe, smooth, and free of defects. Reflective, non-faded road paint markings will be maintained throughout the contract period, so that the roads are easily visible to drivers and pedestrians.

The agency will also work to prevent water-logging and will ensure that the slopes and levels of all roads are proper, providing a smooth and comfortable driving experience.

Additionally, the agency will take the necessary steps to strengthen the road as needed in order to meet the minimum acceptable standards. This project will lead to better and safer roads for the citizens of Delhi.