On December 30,the New Delhi Municipal Council will inaugurate a redeveloped Connaught Place,the centre point of the national capital. The project,much marred by delays has been the most difficult exercise for Engineers India Limited (EIL),the company tasked with the redevelopment exercise. Deepak Moudgil,Director- Projects at EIL under whose charge the project was implemented,spoke to Sandeep Singh on the challenges involved.

Redevelopment of Connaught Place has been in focus over the last five years. What is your feeling now that it is complete?

It has been a very painful process,however we are very happy about the work that we have done. Here the problem was that we were not capable of hsandeandling the pressure from people (traders etc) and we never anticipated such an environment. People had different perceptions,approvals were given by everyone but when we approached the site to work on the project,our people were turned away. NDMC too had its problems as people were going to courts etc.

How did you enter this project and what changes were made later on?

Initially,NDMC came to us with a renovation plan estimated at Rs 70 crore. We thought that if work was to be done in Connaught Place after 70 years,it should be such that no major work (digging etc) is required for the next 30 years at least. We proposed a redevelopment project costing around Rs 700 crore where we had proposed a tunnel in the middle circle which was the heart of the project and the idea was to keep all services in that. It was accepted. We had planned underground parking and several subways for achieving pedestrianisation but most of that was later shelved because of voices coming up against it.

What led to the delay?

The project moved from single phase (initial plan) to 8-9 phases and there were lot of permissions and approvals required which took their own time. There were lot of interlinkages — cables,pipes etc and you can’t cut them and they took their own time. We had proposed subways. While they all were approved,we were not given space to work and so what could have been completed in one month took over nine months. There were 29 toilets to be built (nine in the middle circle) but the moment we went for work on a toilet,shop owners would come and stop work stating that you can’t make it behind or in front of my shop. People went to court. The last nine toilets became a hassle for us. People stopped us when we went for window replacements. All this took its toll. The approval from the Delhi Urban Arts Commission took its time and JNNURM funding had some procedural problems.

Did you ever anticipate such resistance from people?

We never imagined that we would work in such an environment. It was not created for us but the situation was such. We did not know who was the boss and whom we should talk to.

Comparisons are drawn with Delhi Metro Rail Corporation,that they did things smoothly and in time?

I think that DMRC did not have to face any of the problems we faced. There were 3,000 shop owners sitting there and they would always come to us with their reservations on the construction activities and in some cases they went to courts affecting the continuous working. DMRC got clear barricaded stretch to do their work. Even if residents were involved,they would get the houses demolished and everything was clear for them. We were in a different situation.

It is said that the deadline for the project was October 2010,in time for the Commonwealth Games…

No. It was not a CWG project. It was decided that a part of the work including structure of tunnel work and restoration of buildings was to be done by July 2010 which we completed by July 23,2010. The remaining work was to be completed after the CWG and the deadline given was December 2012.

Do you think the authorities backed out even after they had given approvals?

I would not say that they backed out but the fact is that the social pressure was so much on everyone that people decided that way. It was a living project,the sensitivity of which nobody owned and we never went to the media. We tried to sensitise and intimated people there that this work will be done and if there is any problem please call on a particular number. I won’t blame them completely,as people lost their patience.

What other challenges did you face?

All structures at Connaught Place are 70 years old and they are not reinforced concrete-framed structures. There is no structural stability and yet we dug 13 metres deep with without any damage to any building.

Did the project witness any cost escalation?

While the initial stipulated cost for the entire project was Rs 700 crore,two projects were shelved — three layered parking (to park 5,500 park vehicles) and few subways. Once they were accounted for,the approved cost for the remaining project came at Rs 484 crore and we completed this in Rs 450 crore.

Will you stay away from such projects in future?

I would not say that. The fact is that,now we will try to stitch all approvals in place upfront and ensure there is a proper authority in place. In this case everyone came and had a role to play. Just six months ago,we were talked about so badly and that made us hesitant whether we should go for such public projects. Without authority and with moral responsibility of the project,it is tough.