Taking a grim view of frequent road-cutting by various agencies in the capital for their works, Delhi urban development minister A.K. Walia on Friday specified that only four months of the year could be used for the purpose.
The move has come in the backdrop of traffic disruption and debris being left to lie on the roads after road-cutting, Dr Walia stated that the months of January, February, March and December would be used for road-cutting purposes.
Dr Walia has also advised the utility agencies like the MTNL, DJB, discoms to find out alternatives to road-cutting for laying down their cables. The NDMC is already constructing a tunnel in the Connaught Place area which would be used to place all kinds of cables underneath.
Dr Walia stated that road-cutting norms are essential to overcome obstructions in the movement of traffic and pedestrians, as frequent road-cutting has become a cause of concern.
Giving reasons for the decision, Dr Walia stated that it is essential as frequent cutting results in debris lying scattered on the roadsides, giving shabby look to the city.
The agencies concerned, which want to carry out road-cutting for their works, would be required to get their permissions processed in advance by the road-owning agency.
To ensure that no such exercise is carried out before and during Monsoons when the debris gets into drains to cause water-logging, the government has decided that no permission for road-cutting would be granted for four months — June, July, August and September. “The agencies have also been advised to opt for alternate procedure so that the inconvenience could be contained. It was also suggested that ducting procedure for multi-purpose utility services may be adopted as being executed by the NDMC,” Dr Walia added.