The 1.6-km-long flyover St Stephens Hospital to Filmistaan Cinema, which was originally scheduled to be completed by 2010, was inaugurated by Union Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan on Tuesday.

Dedicating the flyover to the people, Vardhan said the project is materialised with the support of Urban Development fund by the Central Government.

He said the grade separator required collaboration and support of various different agencies and people at large.

Union Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Statistics and Programme Implementation Vijay Goel said with the opening of flyover the daily commuting time would be reduced from one hour to 5 minutes; that is 91.6 per cent reduction. 

However Goel queered the pitch and asked for an enquiry as to why there has been so much delay in completing the project of Rani Jhansi Flyover.

Addressing the gathering, Union Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said the project was stalled for a very long time, leading to trouble.

“In order to complete such projects, a strong political will and leadership is needed,” he said. Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal said in the last one year, 43 per cent of the work of the flyover was completed while the remaining work was completed in eight years.

Baijal also said the flyover would benefit around five lakh commuters daily on this route. He said this is one of the difficult projects requiring collaboration of Railways, Jal Board, Traffic Police, Municipal Corporation and other civic agencies.

The work involved severe complicated issues related to acquisition of land from private property owners, exchange of land with Railways and “Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board” (DUSIB), shifting of DDA market, shifting of schools and markets.