Delhi’s Pragati Maidan Tunnel Requires Overhaul as Repair is Not Feasible: Report

The 1.3-km tunnel, inaugurated in 2022, faced multiple closures during floods last year. The Delhi government’s Public Works Department (PWD) has issued a notice to Larsen and Toubro over alleged “glaring infirmities” in the Rs 777-crore tunnel. The PWD has also demanded a Rs 500 crore “token amount” from L&T, prompting a counterclaim of a similar amount from the construction firm. The government department has also directed the company to immediately begin repair work.

But a delay in its completion and negligence in maintenance has led to cracks in the tunnel, the PWD official was quoted as saying. The structure is not safe for commuters anymore, and it cannot be repaired without a complete revamp, he said. The tunnel and five underpasses form the Pragati Maidan Integrated Transit Corridor Project that aims to ease connectivity between central Delhi with the eastern parts of the city and the nearby cities of Noida and Ghaziabad. Pointing to this, another official said all underground tunnels develop leakages and blamed L&T, the company entrusted with its maintenance, for not undertaking repair work despite being asked to multiple times in the past two months.

“The most glaring as well as alarming issue was the accumulation of water across various locations in the tunnel/underpass,” it noted. “This issue, especially during the monsoon season, rendered the entire project non-operational for the general public and ultimately ended up causing far more blockages and congestion along the arterial roads of the entire New Delhi area, which defeated the very purpose of this ambitious project,” the notice stated. In its show-cause notice, the PWD asked L&T to deposit a “minimum token amount” of Rs 500 crore and begin repair work immediately. An L&T spokesperson referred to the Delhi PWD as an “esteemed client” and said a counterclaim of Rs 500 crore has been filed by the company.