Delhi govt working on resolving 'legacy problems' left by previous regimes: CM

New Delhi, Dec 16 (PTI) Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday said waterlogging and pollution in Delhi are "legacy problems" left by the previous regimes and her government is working to find solutions for them.

Gupta inspected the desilting work at Sunehri Nala here and slammed the previous Congress and Aam Aadmi Party governments over pollution and drainage issues.

She also reviewed the progress of the under-construction Barapullah Bridge Phase-III, which will connect South Delhi with East Delhi.

"Be it waterlogging, silt in the drain or pollution, we have only got legacy problems. The government is working to find solutions to problems. We have installed mist sprayers, but it will take time for results to be visible," she told reporters.

Hitting out at Congress and AAP, she said they were in power for 15 and 10 years, respectively, but did not do anything.

"They only did the work of giving pain to Delhiites while we are working to heal the sufferings of people," she added. She was accompanied by Delhi Water Minister Parvesh Verma during the inspection.

Her remarks come a day after she was greeted with chants of "AQI, AQI" when she went on the stage to greet global football icon Lionel Messi at the Arun Jaitley stadium here.

The Chief Minister directed officials to ensure quality, speed and transparency in the execution of all works, asserting that the Delhi government is resolving long-pending legacy issues left behind by previous governments, including incomplete and unscientific projects.

The Chief Minister said that colonies adjoining the Sunehri Nala have faced severe waterlogging every monsoon. To address this, a total of 50,000 metric tonnes of silt is to be removed from the 1-kilometre-long drain, out of which approximately 14,000 metric tonnes has already been cleared.

She pointed out that the absence of proper outlet and slab systems had led to heavy silt accumulation, aggravating waterlogging in nearby areas. The desilting work is being carried out by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and is expected to be completed before the next monsoon.

Gupta added that the entire matter will be audited to determine how such a large drain was constructed without ensuring a sustainable future cleaning mechanism.

Reviewing the progress of the Barapullah Phase-III Corridor, she said the project would significantly improve Delhi’s traffic management.

The elevated corridor will connect Sarai Kale Khan to Mayur Vihar-I and involves the construction of an upgraded roadway with ducts. The approximately 13.3-kilometre-long six-lane corridor will also include a 4.3-kilometre-long cycle track. The project further features a 500-metre-long six-lane extradosed bridge, the first of its kind in the country, with dedicated walkways and cycle tracks on both sides.

Gupta said the Barapullah Corridor will provide signal-free connectivity between East Delhi (Mayur Vihar) and South Delhi (AIIMS), reducing traffic pressure on the DND Flyway and NH-24 and facilitating smooth movement for around 1.5 lakh vehicles daily.

The national capital's air quality saw some improvement on Tuesday morning, with an AQI of 377 as against 498 a day ago, even as smog blanketed the city, shivering at 8.3 degrees Celsius during the morning hours, reducing visibility. PTI SLB NB