A fully constructed four-lane bridge over the Najafgarh drain near Badusarai village in southwest Delhi has been lying unused and abandoned for two years since it was constructed as a link to Dwarka. It cannot be used for traffic movement because the irrigation and flood control (I&FC) department failed to acquire land at one end of the bridge, where agricultural fields and trees are in the way of access to Nanak Heri Main Road.
This has left residents and commuters with no other option but to use a single-lane bridge—located parallel to this new bridge—that can only be accessed by one vehicle from either side at a go.
While the construction of the four-lane reinforced cement concrete (RCC) bridge started in 2019 and finished in early 2023, it was referred to as a “blunder” by a multidisciplinary expert group at a meeting held under the additional chief secretary (revenue) last June due to land acquisition lapse.
“As regards acquisition of land for construction of the four-lane RRC Bridge… the group considered the social impact assessment (SIA) report and noted that the I&FC department committed a blunder by constructing the bridge without doing advance tie-up for land for the project, leading to the construction of the bridge but without access…” said the minutes of the meeting, dated June 30, 2024, accessed by HT.
In the same meeting, the expert group recommended land acquisition at the earliest. Still, nine months later, there has been no progress in the acquisition despite further construction being undertaken.
A visit by HT on March 19 found vehicles, including buses, jostling one another to access the single-lane bridge.
Residents rued the developments as the project has failed to resolve their traffic woes.
“The existing bridge is fairly old now. We were told the new bridge will provide swift connectivity to other areas but we have seen it lying unused for two years now and people sometimes mistakenly get on it, only to return, as only one side of the road is connected. The other side ends up on a farmland,” said 39-year-old Sunil Kumar, who runs a shop in Badusarai village.
During the spot visit, HT also found that the new bridge has been built at a higher elevation—by one metre—than the current one, making connectivity to the main road a challenge, even after land is acquired.
Locals, in a bid to use the new bridge, have cleared out bushes in a corner, carving out a path having a steep drop to a portion of the main road to the extreme left side of the carriageway. “Some people, particularly on bikes, can still try to get on the bridge and get down from the left corner. It is a steep drop and if cars try and get down from this kuccha trail, they may damage the vehicle or worse, possibly topple over,” said 46-year-old Suresh Yadav, a Chhawla resident who frequents this stretch.
The owner of the farmland at one end of the bridge, requesting not to be named, told HT that the authorities contacted him but failed to follow up on acquisition formalities.
“We know the bridge will benefit not just people in Badusarai, but even those headed towards Gurugram and Haryana from here. However, authorities have only reached out to me twice in the last two years. They said they will issue a notice to acquire this land for a fair price, but I have not received any communication since then,” the landowner said.
He said the land to be acquired spanned only “around 160 gajj” (0.02 acres). “While people have created this makeshift trail on one corner of the bridge to get down, it is fairly steep and dangerous. I will not allow any construction on my land though, unless they acquire it rightfully,” the landowner said.
A senior official with the I&FC department said the land acquisition process was underway, with all legal formalities being followed. “We are still in process of acquiring the land. Only a small portion of land is needed to complete the bridge and connect it to the other end. We believe once the land is acquired, it should not take more than a month to complete the pending work,” said the official, on condition of anonymity.
In the June 2024 meeting, I&FC said such a situation arose as the expenditure finance committee (EFC) of the government changed the bridge’s alignment. It also suggested demolishing this bridge at the meeting.
The expert group, comprising MCD, PWD, revenue officials and district magistrates, however, refused such a proposal. “Even if EFC approved a new alignment, I&FC should have had tie-up for land for access of the bridge from the road before taking the construction. They would have avoided current situation where the constructed bridge remains unused…” the minutes read.
Paras Tyagi, co-founder at the Centre for Youth Culture Law and Environment (CYCLE), an NGO working with urban villages, said efforts must now be made to make the bridge functional at the earliest.
“This is a glaring example of administrative negligence and mismanagement by the I&FC. A bridge, fully constructed and meant to serve as an essential connectivity link, has remained unused due to a complete lack of access and unplanned execution,” he said.
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