NEW DELHI: The last hurdle in the way of a solution to the Rao Tula Ram Marg flyover mess has been cleared. Delhi Urban Art Commission (DUAC) had indicated ten days back that it wished to take a relook at the project following a representation from some residents who don’t want it to “impinge” on their houses, as reported in TOI. This action of the Commission had been seen as overstepping its brief since it is tasked to take a view on urban aesthetics only. In a sudden move on Tuesday, the Commission cleared the project without any riders.

This is the culmination of a long campaign by this newspaper to sort out the RTR mess of a truncated half-flyover on the way to the airport, brought about by behind-the-scene lobbying by an influential group of Palam Marg residents who wished to hold on to their service lane. It had created an insurmountable bottleneck. Delhi government was forced by TOI’s campaign to look for solutions. Earlier this year, it decided to construct an additional three-lane flyover parallel to the existing flyover. Along with it, an underpass will also be built on Benito Juarez Marg for traffic to cross over to Ring Road.

Faced with DUAC’s earlier decision to summon PWD officials for a review, PWD minister Raj Kumar Chauhan had told TOI that since the project had got all clearances – from LG and UTTIPEC – he was planning to approach Union urban development minister Kamal Nath to seek his intervention.

But DUAC seems to have had a change of mind. Project chief engineer Sarvagya Srivastava said the PWD had told DUAC that in the given circumstances, this was the only feasible solution. At Tuesday’s meeting, the Commission did not rake up the issues of pedestrian movement and traffic circulation plan either. It only asked the government to take care of the “aesthetics” of the proposed skywalk that will be constructed over the underpass connecting the proposed Metro station and an existing foot overbridge on Ring Road. This skywalk will go on till Sri Venkateshwara College on Benito Juarez Marg.

Moreover, in order to address the grievances of residents of Vasant Enclave and Vasant Vihar, the agency has suggested an alternative access to RTR that will resolve their traffic woes significantly.

Chauhan has welcomed the decision. “The RTR project has been on our priority list. We shall start construction of the project within six months and will complete it within two years. The residents who have been objecting to it should understand that it will help them too,” he said.

The PWD will now prepare a detailed project report and submit a preliminary estimate to seek administrative approval and expenditure sanction from the Delhi government.