Games infrastructure losing sheen due to shoddy upkeep,says Walia

“Continued damage to this costly and modern infrastructure is bound to incur irreparable loss to the city’s glory that drew attention and praise from visitors,” Walia said through a press release on Monday.

The letter has been sent to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA),Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD),New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC),Public Works Department (PWD) and Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC),among others.

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit constituted a special committee in October last year to ensure that the civic upgrade work done for the Games is maintained properly.

The oversight panel,headed by Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta,was to meet once a month to assess the progress of the maintenance wings that were to be formed by all agencies linked with the upgrade. Dikshit had then directed agencies to maintain a high level of cleanliness in all city areas and asked them to deploy a workforce to clean the roads.

Dikshit,who heads the Environment and Art and Culture departments to whom Walia has also written,said the Chief Secretary is reviewing the maintenance and such a bad report of the upkeep has not been brought to her notice by anyone earlier.

“I am not saying it (upkeep) is the best. We have had a bad winter,so plants have got down and out at places. I’ll have a look if that (poor maintenance) is the matter,” Dikshit told Newsline.

But Walia,who’s next to Dikshit in seniority among all Cabinet colleagues,is clearly not happy. The newly developed infrastructure is losing sheen,Walia said,and the maintenance agencies should treat his letter pointing out the deficiencies as a wake-up call.

“The sheen is being lost because of visible cracks,damaged paints,loose grills,potholes on roads,broken flower pots,debris,uneven and shabby landscaping,broken signages,non-functional traffic lights and streetlights,on-going rampant unauthorised constructions,unsatisfactory sanitary conditions and non-disposal of solid waste,” Walia said.

“If such negligence continues over the next few months,the infrastructure may suffer substantial damage making revival a Herculean task,” Walia noted.