‘Rani Jhansi flyover to be completed by August’

New Delhi: Union minister Harsh Vardhan said on Tuesday the long-awaited Rani Jhansi flyover in North Delhi will be completed by August, but alleged that two projects in Chandni Chowk area did not take off because of “non-cooperation” from the AAP government.

Dr Vardhan represents Chandni Chowk in Lok Sabha.On Tuesday, he presented the details of the work done by him in his constituency during the past four years.

“The work on Rani Jhansi flyover was stuck for many years but I took it up aggressively and its construction will be completed by August this year,” the minister told reporters.

The flyover project was conceived about two decades ago and has missed several deadlines.

Listing out the work he has done as the representative of the constituency in Lok Sabha, Dr Vardhan said two projects — Shahjahanabad redevelopment plan and under-grounding of electric cables in Chandni Chowk — did not happen as the Delhi government “backed out” on them.

“We pursued the Shahjahanabad redevelopment plan aggressively. I met with lt governor of Delhi and he was also interested. But Delhi government backed out. I also met chief minister but he was reluctant on it,” Dr Vardhan alleged.

The project to remove electricity wires and other cables hanging through the lanes of the crowded Chandni Chowk area too met the similar fate, he claimed.

“After a few meetings, Delhi government representatives stopped attending meetings,” he said.

The minister said he managed to spend all the money in his MP Local Area Development fund.

More than 50 open gyms have been set up and 80 more are planned, besides 35 to be developed with cooperation from the DDA, he said.

He said he would try to provide the facilities separately from women. He said nearly 237 projects were under progress.

Dr Vardhan also listed out the Central government schemes implemented in his constituency and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his “vision” to take the country forward.

He said the Modi government has achieved “remarkable” results in most areas.

“By identifying problems, diagnosing shortcomings, providing solutions and then monitoring implementation, the prime minister has established good governance on firm footing,” he said