Connaught Place’s Inner Circle to be music and art hub, vehicle ban likely

In a bid to encourage cultural and social activities in the heart of the city, the New Delhi Municipal Council proposes ban vehicular movement in Connaught Place’s Inner Circle to make way for pedestrians.

NDMC officials said the council is mulling ways to develop the Inner Circle as a “happiness area” where artists would be given a platform to hold shows, exhibitions and concerts. “Here, we seek to encourage artists willing to exhibit their talent through their respective art — plays, street shows, musicals, concerts, cultural performances — believing that this could be a launch pad for them,” said an official.

With the restriction on vehicles’ entry into Inner Circle, pedestrian footfall is likely to increase. “Due to its connectivity with Delhi Metro and parking slots available in the Outer Circle, the civic agency hopes the idea would receive a positive response.”

“The council is looking into modalities to restrict parking to within the Outer Circle, so that the Inner Circle remains congestion-free,” said NDMC chairman Naresh Kumar.

As the civic agency is looking into modalities, it is yet to finalise the plan. “The council wishes to create exclusive areas with multi-media lights and related infrastructure for its citizens’ cultural, artistic and social activities,” said Mr Kumar while delivering his budget speech for the year 2016-2017.

“With this plan, we seek to promote room for pedestrians. We are vying for the smart city project and Connaught Place is a very important area under our jurisdiction. Though various initiatives have been lined up for its revamp and facelift, traffic congestion remains a huge problem,” he said, adding that the planned changes will not only reduce congestion, but also contribute to an increase in the pedestrian footfall.

“The details of how the proposal will be implemented are being worked out and it is likely to be enforced shortly,” Mr Kumar said.

The civic body seeks to revamp entire Connaught Place in the process of building a “happiness areas” by providing amenities to the visitors; this includes revamping subways, and construction of cycle-tracks in its jurisdiction.