Across Najafgarh, a bridge to nowhere

A fully constructed fourlane bridge over the Najafgarh drain near Badusarai village in southwest Delhi has been lying unused and abandoned for two years since it was constructed as a link to Dwarka.

- Jasjeev Gandhiok

It cannot be used for traffic movement because the irrigation and flood control (I&FC) department failed to acquire land at one end of the bridge, where agricultural fields and trees are in the way of access to Nanak Heri Main Road.

This has left residents and commuters with no other option but to use a singlelane bridge-located parallel to this new bridge that can only be accessed by one vehicle from either side at a go.

While the construction of the fourlane reinforced cement concrete (RCC) bridge started in 2019 and finished in early 2023, it was referred to as a "blundioni der" by a multidisciplinary expert group at a meeting held under the additional chief secretary (revenue) last June due to land acquisition lapse.

"As regards acquisition of land for construction of the fourlane RRC Bridge... the group considered the social impact assessment (SIA) report and noted that the I&FC department committed a blunder by constructing the bridge without doing advance tie-up for land for the project, leading to the construction of the bridge but without access..." said the minutes of the meeting, dated June 30, 2024, accessed by HT.

In the same meeting, the expert group recommended land acquisition at the earliest. Still, nine months later, there has been no progress in the acquisition despite further construction being undertaken.