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JDA to Restart Elevated Road Project on Sardar Patel Marg After 13 Years

2024-07-25

Around 13 years after the shelving of an elevated road project, the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) has announced plans to prepare another Detailed Project Report (DPR) for the same elevated road connecting the Collectorate Circle and the Raj Mahal Palace Hotel crossing on Sardar Patel Marg. According to JDA officials, a feasibility study report for the project is currently being prepared. Once finalized, the JDA intends to float tenders for the DPR. The proposed elevated road is slated to pass through Khasa Kothi Circle and the Government Hostel Chourahia.

A senior JDA official stated that a feasibility report for the project is being prepared, and upon completion, a tender will be floated for the DPR. The official expressed confidence in completing the elevated road this time. Members of the JDA recalled that the then Congress government proposed this elevated road around 2009 and subsequently prepared a DPR. A tender was issued in June 2011 for its construction with a deadline of 21 months and an estimated cost of Rs 1.50 billion. However, objections from a hotel at Khasa Kothi Circle led to the shelving of the project by the state government.

In the recent state Budget, it was announced that the elevated road would be constructed at a revised cost of Rs 4 billion, necessitating an additional expenditure of at least Rs 2.50 billion. Some engineers have raised concerns about the project's viability, noting that construction for Line 1 of the Jaipur Metro began on November 13, 2010, with metro pillars erected at Khasa Kothi Circle by mid-2012.

"There are significant questions to consider now. Can the elevated road be constructed over the metro lines, or will alternative solutions be proposed in the feasibility report? Ultimately, the fate of the project hinges on the findings of the feasibility report," remarked another engineer.