Gandhi Maidan still a green area, will take time to change land use: North corporation to Delhi HC

The court had asked the corporation to apprise it of the reasons for the delay in the completion of parking lots in Old Delhi, after noting that the lack of proper parking space led to serious traffic congestion in the area.

Irked with the long delays in implementing the plans for the redevelopment of Old Delhi, the bench of Justice S Muralidhar and Justice Vibhu Bakhru has appointed Nitin Panigrahi, Deputy General Manager (DGM) of the Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation (SRDC), as the nodal officer to coordinate with all government agencies concerned.

The bench has also directed all officials to “fix realistic time lines, responsibilities and discharge them without demur”.

The order was issued after the court took note of the lack of cooperation between various government departments, including the north corporation, Delhi Police, Delhi Development Authority, Delhi Jal Board and BSES. The counsel for the Delhi government also told the court that senior officers were “required” to ensure coordination between agencies.

Senior officials have also been identified as “nodal officers” to oversee the work to be done by each agency, and will now be held responsible for any delays or lapses. The bench has also asked Panigrahi to ensure that all decisions regarding the work of the project are taken speedily. It has asked for specific timelines for completion of the various projects within two weeks.