The Pioneer 11.08.2010
Sheila pushes debris removal deadline to August 31
Staff Reporter | New Delhi
Failing to adhere to the August 10 deadline to remove construction debris across the city, the Delhi Government has extended the time to August 31. Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta said the deadline has been extended following a request from various civic agencies, including the MCD and the NDMC, as they could not remove debris from various construction sites within the deadline. Over 80,000 metric tonnes debris has been removed from roads.
Last month, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had set August 10 as deadline for removing debris across the city and ordered all civic agencies to strictly comply with it. Admitting that the earlier deadline could not be met due to the ongoing construction work, Dikshit said all construction waste will be cleared as soon as possible. “Debris has been removed to a large extent. When you build a road or a house or a building, construction waste is bound to be there,” she said when asked about failure of various agencies to stick to the deadline. “We have to clear it all and we will do that soon,” she said.
Explaining the delay, she said there are “agencies which are not under the Delhi Government and which are undertaking various construction activities”. Blaming the media for not portraying a real picture of the preparations, she said all the key projects, undertaken by the city Government, will be completed on time. “Please give a real picture (of the preparations),” she said.
Mehta on Monday said the Government agencies had already removed 80,000 metric tones of debris. A huge amount of rubble is still lying in parts of the Capital even though the August 10 deadline to clean up roads ended on Tuesday. Places like CP, Paharganj and Pandara Road, besides areas in and around Shivaji Stadium, Siri Fort and Talkatora Stadium are still waiting for the agencies to remove construction material. The Delhi Government had undertaken projects worth over `16,500 crore to improve infrastructure in the Capital for the Games.
