Sunehri Bagh Masjid: Traffic study in 2021 said traffic volume was below capacity

On Saturday, the Imam of the mosque moved the Delhi High Court against the NDMC notice. A single-judge bench of Justice Manoj Jain listed the matter on January 8, 2024, before the roster bench. The HC, however, questioned the locus of the Imam to file the plea instead of the Delhi Waqf Board. The counsel appearing for the Imam said, “I’m leading a congregation there. It is a functioning mosque. I’m looking out for my congregation.”

In his petition before the HC, the Imam claimed the NDMC was targeting the mosque “without any research, data, statistics, demonstration to show there is any traffic congestion due to existence of the mosque. Further, there is no research or data placed showing proportion of contribution of the mosque or worshippers in alleged traffic congestion”. The plea also states that the mosque is a “symbol of the rich cultural heritage of the country”.

The 150-year-old mosque is on a roundabout near the sites of the new Prime Minister’s Office complex called Executive Enclave and new PM Residence that are under construction as a part of the Central Vista revamp.

When contacted, NDMC vice-chairperson and BJP leader Satish Upadhyay said, “No decision has been taken yet; we are following the process after requests from the traffic department. We have followed the legal process as per the unified building bylaws by the urban development ministry which state that to touch any heritage building, permission is to be taken from the heritage committee and public opinion is also a part of due process.”

He added that the Council had sent the proposal to the religious committee of the Delhi government, which had concurred.

When asked for comment, a senior Delhi Traffic Police officer said, “There is no project in whose way the mosque is coming but because it is situated on the roundabout, the traffic police want it to be cleared.”

What the report found

In March 2021, CPWD submitted an environmental impact assessment and environmental management plan report prepared by Kadam Environmental Consultants to the Union Environment Ministry as a part of its application for environment clearance for the Central Vista project, including the construction of Common Central Secretariat, Prime Minister’s Residence and Vice-President’s Enclave.

The assessment included a study of the traffic volume in the area and projections for it in 2026 and 2031 done by Tata Consulting Engineers Ltd. Both consultants were hired by architects of the Central Vista project — HCP Design, Planning and Management.

Of the four roundabouts studied, the report found only the Sunehri Bagh Masjid roundabout did not need any interventions. Three others — near Vice-President’s House, Panchmukhi Chowk and Raisina Road — would need to be converted to signal crossings. “Except Sunehri Bagh masjid roundabout, the other three roundabouts will have significant changes in overall intersection delay, approach delay, and level of service. Sunehri Bagh masjid roundabout will have minimum impact on intersection and approach delay,” the report said.

It recommended: “Roundabouts (except Sunehri Bagh masjid one) within study area shall be converted to signalised roundabout.”

In fact, the traffic study as a part of the report showed the volume of traffic at the Sunehri Masjid roundabout was below its capacity: opposed to a capacity of 4,645 passenger car units/hour (PCU), total volume during peak hour (9 to 10 am) was projected to be 3,389 PCU/hr in 2026 and 3,721 PCU/hr in 2031. For the study, all vehicles are assigned values in relation to a car. For instance, a car, jeep, van or taxi is one PCU, a two-wheeler is 0.2 PCU and a bus is 4.58 PCU, as per the report.

In its application for clearance, CPWD cited “traffic decongestion” as one of the benefits of the project.