'Construction of Bijwasan flyover amounts to scam'

The construction of Bijwasan flyover, which is running over two years behind schedule, amounts to a scam where the top brass of South Delhi Municipal Corporation is hand in glove with the construction mafia, alleged Opposition in the Standing Committee of the civic agency on Friday.

Leader of Opposition Farhad Suri said that the commissioner and other top deck of the corporation have flouted norms to cover up the wrong practices going on in the civic agency.

“How can a consultant to corporation projects became party to the construction company for Rs 200 crore project against the CVC guidelines?” asked Suri.

According to the Central Vigilance Commission guidelines, a consultant, designer and contractor working on the same project should not be known to each other, said Deputy Mayor Praveen Rana.

“But in the case of the construction of Bijwasan flyover, the consultant is a party to a joint venture that is handling the project.

This consultant is also involved in other projects that have also gone haywire,” added Rana, who is also a councillor from Bijwasan.

The opposition also said that even after completion, the Bijwasan flyover will be the “worst flyover” in the city.

“The project has a lot of shortcomings. The contractor has not thought of stairs on the road overbridge which will see a huge footfall from Najafgarh-Bijwasan railway crossing,” said Rana.

The Leader of the House demanded an immediate probe into the matter. To which Commissioner of South Corporation Manish Gupta replied that civic agency’s first priority is to finish the construction of the much-delayed flyover so that general public can benefit from it.

“That doesn’t mean we won’t initiate an enquiry into the issue. An investigation to ascertain whether the CVC guidelines have been followed will be launched soon,” Gupta added.

Rana said that they have filed a complaint to the Central Vigilance Commission as well.

The Bijwasan flyover was envisioned by the unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) in 2008. But the work did not begin till 2010.