New Delhi: The over one-kilometre long Pragati Maidan tunnel and the underpasses intended to enable “seamless connectivity” between Central, Southeast and New Delhi, readied with much fanfare ahead of the G20 Summit in Delhi last year, is now deemed a “potential threat to the life of passengers” by the Public Works Department (PWD), as per The Indian Express.The department has cited, water seepage, large cracks in cement and concrete and poor drainage in the six-lane tunnel. Multiple notices have been issued to construction company, Larsen and Toubro (L&T). They have been asked to deposit Rs 500 crore for “serious technical and design deficiencies”. The newspaper reports the project cost to be Rs 777 crore. During the monsoons in Delhi last year, the tunnel was closed for over a month due to waterlogging.An L&T spokesperson is cited by the newspaper as talking about a counter-claim that it has been pursuing against the government department. “PWD, Delhi, is an esteemed client and we value the long years of association we have enjoyed with them. However, L&T would like to state that a counterclaim of Rs 500 crore has been made by the company against PWD, Delhi.”L&T is also the lead construction company for the ongoing Central Vista project.According to the notice issued by the PWD to the firm, the “fault in design” and “other quality parameter-related issues” cannot be resolved without a “major revamp and maintenance/overhaul of the entire project”. These include issues in the integrated transit corridor too, along major arterial roads of the national capital, Mathura Road, Bhairon Marg, Mahatma Gandhi Marg, and connecting Mathura Road to Mahatma Gandhi Marg via an underground tunnel below Pragati Maidan.PWD is quoted as writing to L&T, “… the most glaring (and) alarming issue was accumulation of water across various locations in the tunnel/underpasses. This issue, especially during the monsoon, rendered the entire project non-operation(al) for the public and ultimately ended up causing far more blockages and congestion along arterial roads of the entire New Delhi area, which defeated the very purpose of this ambitious project,” The PWD claims that despite repeated communications and requests, the issues have remained “unaddressed for over two months”, as per the report.
