Submit Timeline Of Construction Of Signature Bridge: Delhi HC To State [Read Order]

The Delhi High Court has directed the Centre and the AAP Government to place on affidavit the timeline of the construction and completion of the Signature Bridge.

The Bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C. Hari Shankar also directed the authorities to file their replies on the variation in cost since the day the project began.

The Wazirabad bridge is currently being used by the public to commute to and fro from Delhi and Uttar Pradesh. The Signature Bridge is expected to share the burden of the vehicular traffic being borne by the Wazirabad bridge.

During a recent hearing, the Petitioner, Ms. Pratibha Chopra had expressed concern over the "unwarranted pressure" on the Wazirabad Bridge, which, she said, caused apprehension about the safety and security of the commuters.

Therefore, a structural and technical audit of the Wazirabad bridge has also been directed to be conducted within a period of two weeks. The matter has now been directed to be listed on 29 November.

The Signature Bridge project was approved by the Delhi Cabinet in 2007 and was initially expected to be completed at a modified estimate of Rs 1,131 crore by the Commonwealth Games that was held in October, 2010. However, in 2015, the initial cost of the project rose to Rs 1,594 crore.

Besides, the project has also missed several deadlines for its completion. It had been given environmental clearance in 2011 and was set to be completed by December, 2013. This deadline was pushed to June, 2016 and then to July, 2017. It was further extended to December, 2017, with a possibility of another extension.