The Hindu : New Delhi News : C-block restoration delayed

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Monday, Apr 21, 2008
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C-block restoration delayed

Manisha Jha

Delays hampering our business, say traders

Now slated to be complete by April end
“Work on only one side of the Block remaining”

NEW DELHI: The façade restoration work in C-block of Connaught Place undertaken by the New Delhi Municipal Council as part of a re-development project is now running behind schedule by over two months.

The restoration work which commenced on a sample basis in September 2007 was originally scheduled to have been completed by February this year, but is now slated to be complete by April end.

New Delhi Traders’ Association president Atul Bharghav, who runs a clothes store in C-block, said: “Though we are very happy with the quality of restoration work and the final look of the Block, we are concerned about the increasing delays hampering our business. Since the Block is in a shambles and unapproachable by customers, I have suffered a loss of roughly Rs.75 lakh in my shop itself.”

An NDMC official said: “Only one side of the Block is left and we awaiting arrival of imported lighting for the Block and installation of sigh boards. The lights installation should be complete by another three to four months, but that would not impinge on us going ahead with undertaking restoration work on all other Blocks simultaneously.”

The highlights of the restoration work underway include replacement of existing windows and frames, plaster and painting in addition to restoration of columns, walls, jalis to their original shape, uniform signboards, flooring, corridor lighting and façade illumination.

After getting clearance from the Heritage Conservation Committee and the Delhi Urban Arts Commission in 2006, the Rs. 2-crore project for C-Block was originally slated to begin in February 2007 and be completed by October 2007 as per the preliminary timelines framed by the civic body. However, one of the reasons the project could not take off on time was NDTA’s initial reluctance to share the project cost. This issue was, however, settled after fresh round of discussions with the new NDMC chairperson Parimal Rai.

Said the NDMC official: “By the time the project started a lot had changed on the ground and the initial deadlines had to be revised. Moreover unlike a greenfield construction, here we had to undertake interaction with each shop occupant and stakeholder in the Block and some had their own compulsions about not letting us work on normal working days. These added to delays which were not factored in by us while drafting original timelines.”

According to NDTA, the wait for arrival of light and flooring design samples, involvement of too many people and practical difficulties of removing illegal construction, wiring and air-conditioners from shop windows also contributed to the delay.

The restoration work is the first step of the overall redevelopment of Connaught Place before the Commonwealth Games in 2010 that includes improvement of pedestrian areas, subways, up-gradation of engineering services, infrastructure, parking and traffic among other features.

The NDMC official said: “Of the Rs. 616 crore overall plan for Connaught Place, we have already got approval for about Rs 400 crores from the Delhi Government and are awaiting sanction for the remaining funds under the JNNURM scheme before we work out the exact details of the work to be undertaken after C-Block.”

The original timelines for each phase of the entire project were framed with the idea that the whole project cost would be met by funds from the Delhi Government and the civic body’s funds. However, the deadlines had to be revised after the NDMC decided to apply for funds from JNNURM.

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