Delhi govt gives green signal to run trams in Walled City

The Delhi government has revived a proposal to ply trams in the Walled City . It has also decided to develop the Shahjahanabad area while keeping its character intact. A board will be constituted on the lines of NDMC and Delhi Cantonment Board for this purpose.

Officials said trams would ply in areas like Red Fort, Jama Masjid, Digamber Jain Mandir, Sheeshganj Gurdwara, old and New Delhi railway stations. The plan had been approved by the lieutenant-governor after DMRC had submitted a detailed project report on the proposal. However, with the final decision pending till Monday , work on the Chandni Chowk redevelopment had also come to a standstill.

On Tuesday morning, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia inspected the area after which he confirmed that trams will operate in old Delhi. He further said there was also an urgent need to constitute a body that would look at the holistic development of the area.

“The minister has said he will visit the area at least thrice more, at various times.He said that the culture of the place is very different and it is like a city within Delhi.The existing Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation is a special purpose vehicle, which has failed to live up to its purpose. Now, because the government will be carrying out several other projects, it will give more powers to the corporation, including that of enforcement. A legislation will be passed and SRDC will work like NDMC and Delhi Cantonment Board,” said an official.

This will also mean that facilities like provision of water, electricity, sanitation, etc will be carried out by SRDC, which may be renamed.

The Chandni Chowk redevelopment plan, under SRDC, was handed over to PWD from the erstwhile municipal corporation in 2013.Work was started to pedestrianize the stretch between Fatehpuri mosque and Red Fort and to shift all cables underground. While PWD has made ducts on one side of the road for transfer of BSES and MTNL cables, work on the other side was not taken up since there was no clarity on whether the tram will be a part of the plan or not. Cables were also not shifted accordingly . On Tuesday , Sisodia directed PWD to start work with the presumption that the tram would be introduced at the earliest.

“Directions have been given to carry out a feasibility study based on the DPR given by DMRC. The plan proposed by it indicates that the tram will ply on the side of the shops and it will be a two-way track. However, this could change in the feasibility study . Not only will we link the important landmarks in the area but also provide easy mobility to residents and tourists in the absence of motorized vehicles,” said an official.