Amdavadis are getting closer to a dream drive - down a relatively congestion-free road to Kalupur railway station.
The Ahmedabad Janmarg Limited (AJL) has reduced the time frame of completing the 4.5 kms elevated corridor from Prem Darwaja to New Cloth Market from 43 to 22 months.
In a recently floated tender, the AJL has specified that the contractors need to complete the project within 22 months of commencement. This includes execution of work even during the monsoon months.
The prime reason for the AJL's decision to complete the work within this period is to meet the cut-off date of all existing civic infrastructure projects under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) scheme before 2012.
"According to our commitment to the government of India, we have to complete the project by 2012. We had earlier fixed 34 months as the period to complete the elevated corridor project," said a senior AJL official. "The AJL later realised that they were running late anyway in executing the project and so could not afford to delay it further."
It however, is debatable whether the AJL's ambitious plan to complete the project in 22 months will fructify. The AJL officials are also keeping their fingers crossed with regard to finding an efficient contractor for the project. "If the contractor can do the majority of casting work outside, it will be able to spend time in erecting pillars for the project faster," said the official.
This is the second time that the AJL has floated tenders to get a proper bid for the elevated corridor. The project is already surrounded by controversy as there are around nine nationally protected monuments in the 4.5 kms stretch of the project area. The ASI had issued notice to the AMC after the Delhi high court's ruling that ASI does not have power to permit construction within 100 metres of heritage monuments.
However, AJL officials say that they have sent a letter seeking permission from the concerned ASI officials and they are hopeful that they will get it.
