NEW DELHI: In a major move to decongest the city, urban development minister Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday announced a Rs 3,250 crore package for the capital, to be used for construction of flyovers, underpasses and rail overbridges to free up arterial roads. From the fund, the Delhi government will get Rs 1,500 crore, DDA Rs 1,665 crore and the North Corporation Rs 85 crore.

"Delhi is facing lots of issues in traffic flow and it is important to initiate projects aimed at decongestion of roads. It will not only save time for commuters but also save them from harassment," said Naidu, inaugurating the Swachh Delhi Abhiyan which will be carried out from November 22-30.

While DDA has been given the money for projects in Dwarka, Narela, Mundka and Holambi, the Delhi government has been asked to prioritize projects in consultation with Delhi Police, municipal bodies and PWD.

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The North Corporation will use its share to complete the Rani Jhansi flyover, hanging fire since 2008.

The projects to be undertaken by DDA include construction of a rail underbridge at Holambi; a rail overbridge at Mundka on Urban Extension Road II; a rail bridge at Narela; a tunnel near Bhagya Vihar and Meer Vihar and construction of the Dwarka Expressway from Urban Extension Road II to Northern Peripheral Road. The 3.5km stretch is expected to give relief to residents of Dwarka and Gurgaon by decongesting NH8 and cutting travel time.

The cash-strapped North Corporation, which has not initiated any new project in a long time, will be given Rs 85 crore for completion of the Rani Jhansi grade separator. The foundation for the flyover, from St Stephens Hospital to Filmistan, was laid in 2008 and the project has been held up at various stages since due to fund crunch and land acquisition issues. Completion of the flyover is expected to reduce travel time from the present one hour to just 10 minutes.

"There were several issues with the construction of this flyover but after the minister announced the fund, we are hopeful that by next year we will be able to hand it over to the public," said Ravinder Gupta, mayor of North Corporation.