Lane excuse: Why inner roads are in bad shape

Roads in Delhi that are less than 60 feet in width — so include all roads in the colonies — are under the jurisdiction of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

- Siddhanta Mishra

New Delhi: When TOI drove through various areas in the city, it found corroboration of residents’ complaints that the inner roads are in a highly compromised condition, being broken, potholed or unpaved.

The truth is that the municipal corporation has struggled to fund the repair and maintenance of the total of 202km of such roads in Delhi. The erstwhile North and South municipal corporations had earmarked budgets for revamping the roads, but with unification, the work has taken a back seat, which may not sit well with citizens with the municipal polls imminent.

According to MCD officials, they have been depending mostly on the Urban Development Fund given by the central government under the Swachh Bharat campaign on the premise that road repairs would curb dust. In 2018, the erstwhile trio of municipal corporations asked the Centre for Rs 300 crore, but only the south body was granted Rs 48 crore. This money utilised this money for procuring water sprinklers, mechanised sweeping machines and other antipollution equipment. MCD claimed that under its “One Road per Zone per Week” initiative, 96 roads were identified for restoration, of which 50 roads were revamped earlier this year.