In view of the recent incidents of violence against women in the national capital, the Delhi government has expedited its plan to set up police posts at pedestrian subways, beneath flyovers and near foot overbridges.
Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Parvesh Sahib Singh on Saturday directed officials to finalise the project in coordination with the Delhi Police and implement it as soon as possible.
“With the Delhi Police and the PWD completing formalities, directions have been given to issue tenders and start work on the ground. In the initial phase, we plan to set up police posts at around 50 locations. The government will set them up from its own budget, while the Delhi Police must provide manpower and manage the area. Tenders for the project will be floated soon,” Singh said.
Through the project, the government aims to improve the safety and utilisation of public infrastructure, he added.
PWD, which maintains around 106 flyovers, 115 foot overbridges and nearly 70 subways, will construct the proposed police posts for the Delhi Police.
Officials said the government received an initial proposal from the Delhi Police to set up about 50 posts, which was found feasible on assessment.
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“While we have approved that proposal, in future, we plan to cover all road assets such as flyovers, pedestrian subways and foot overbridges. Approximately 300 police posts will be set up,” officials said.
In the later phase of the project, the PWD is considering allowing commercial establishments inside pedestrian subways, but the proposal is yet to be approved, they said.
The objective is to provide a sense of security to subway users, they added.
In July last year, the government proposed an “adopt a flyover” project based on a public-private-partnership model to ensure cleanliness and better care of road infrastructure. It has also signed an agreement with private companies to take up work under this initiative.
Earlier, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta had announced a corporate social responsibility initiative inviting private companies to transform spaces beneath six flyovers into clean, organised and visually engaging public areas.
