New Delhi, July 28 (IANS) Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Monday ordered a probe by the Anti-Corruption Branch into irregularities in the on-going Barapullah Elevated Road Phase-III project plagued by cost and time overruns.

While chairing a meeting of the Expenditure Finance Committee on Monday, the CM reviewed the project and took note of the concerns raised over the Public Works Department’s (PWD) negligence and the prolonged delays.

The Chief Minister instructed senior officials to ensure its timely completion, noting that a payment of Rs 175 crore to the contractor was necessitated because the previous government had prevented the company from executing the work.

CM Gupta called the project “yet another example of corruption and negligence under the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government”.

She highlighted that the project, scheduled for completion in October 2017, was repeatedly delayed and eventually went into arbitration.

The ruling favoured the contractor with an award of Rs 120 crore. When the payment was withheld, the company approached the High Court, which in May 2023 ordered the PWD to pay Rs 175 crore, including interest and GST. The sum was subsequently paid during the tenure of then PWD Minister Atishi.

CM Gupta criticised the AAP government for neither filing a review petition nor acting against the lax officials, adding that the payout hampered other PWD schemes.

She also disclosed that the contractor had initially offered to settle the dispute for Rs 35 crore, but the proposal was ignored, resulting in the escalation of the matter to the High Court.

The elevated road will run from Barapullah Nallah to Mayur Vihar Phase-III via Sarai Kale Khan.

PWD Minister Pravesh Verma and officials informed the Chief Minister that the project would gain pace as permissions for tree removal along the route were expected shortly.

The Delhi Cabinet approved the project in September 2011. An amount of Rs 1,260.63 crore was allocated for the project in December 2014.

The construction work began in April 2015, with a stipulated completion period of 30 months.

The original estimated cost of the project was Rs 1,260.63 crore, out of which Rs 1,238.68 crore has been spent so far. The total project cost is now estimated to be Rs 1,330 crore.

Currently, 87 per cent of the work has been completed. Permission for the early removal of trees is expected soon, after which the project will gain momentum.

For the financial year 2025–26, Rs 150 crore has been allocated, of which Rs 86.43 crore had been spent by June 2025.

–IANS

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