Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday reviewed a Public Works Department’s  ( PWD’s ) project of  redesigning of seven roads in Delhi on the lines of European cities and directed officials for the detailed report within three weeks.

During the meeting with PWD officials, Kejriwal gave directions for all 100-foot-wide roads of Delhi, total 500-km-long roads will be completely redesigned as per international standards and along the lines of newly redesigned Chandni Chowk's main road.

Kejriwal has asked for a detailed plan on redesigning of 500 km roads from PWD department in three weeks.

Kejriwal said, "Delhi is the capital of the country. Through this project, it is our dream that Delhi looks like other global capital cities. This will present a better image of India in the world. The Delhi government is continuously working to improve Delhi's roads. A large number of people come to Delhi from abroad and if the roads here are beautiful and congestion-free, then this present a different image of India in front of the world. We will also increase the greenery beside these roads which will help us to combat pollution."

The project will follow the Build–Operate–Transfer (BOT) model, the constitution company will have the responsibility to maintain the road for 15 years. The deadline of redesigning the first 7 roads was extended till August 2021 due to COVID, earlier December 2020 was the deadline.

According to PWD officials, redesigning will solve various through proper panning and mapping.

People face issues because there are bottleneck roads, which create the problem of traffic congestion at various locations in the city.

The wide roads in many parts of Delhi differently turn into a narrow road, and then back into a wide road

after a few kms, which creates a bottleneck situation and heavy traffic at particular

locations.

“The priority will be removing those bottlenecks first, for a smooth flow of traffic and an organized lane system. The second goal would be to increase the efficiency of the existing space of the roads in the city so that spaces are best utilized as per their abilities.” “ There will be measured and planned spaces for vehicles, non-motorized vehicles, footpaths, and side-lanes. The footpaths will be widely mapped to an average of 10 feet for the convenience of the pedestrians. These footpaths will be redesigned and reconstructed as per a standard height for the convenience of physically handicapped,” an official from Delhi government said.

Keeping vehicular emissions an important aspect, the administration said that there will be separate spaces for the planting of trees on the sides of the footpaths. “There will be separate parking spaces for the electric vehicles and auto-rickshaws alongside the footpaths. The slope of the roads, as well as the drains, will be redesigned to tackle the problem of waterlogging on the roads. Rainwater harvesting structures will be built inside the drainage systems to store rainwater as groundwater,” the official added.

“Not even an inch of the surface of any road or roadside will be left uncovered, in order to ensure that there is no dust on the roads. Adequate grasses and shrubs will be planted on all surfaces to ensure dust control,” added further.