Expert At Proving Lies As Truth: Delhi PWD Minister Blames AAP As Police Flag Barapullah Phase-III Errors

New Delhi: Delhi Public Works Department (PWD) Minister Parvesh Verma on Wednesday blamed the previous Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government for the traffic problems being witnessed on the newly opened Barapullah Phase-III corridor, saying the project was planned and designed during its tenure and that the present government is now working on measures to rectify the shortcomings.

The Barapullah Phase-III stretch, which was opened last month, has witnessed slow-moving traffic and congestion due to several design-related shortcomings.

Verma said the department has held discussions on both immediate and long-term measures suggested by the Delhi Traffic Police, which has also written to the PWD flagging various problems on the corridor.

Addressing a press conference, Verma said the government had also taken note of the traffic situation immediately after the flyover was inaugurated and was concerned about the congestion witnessed on the stretch.

“Immediately after the inauguration of the Barapullah Phase-III flyover, especially the Aam Aadmi Party and all the Opposition leaders got ready and jumped into the issue. They are making a lot of noise. We saw that from the very next day, there was so much traffic movement there that the entire area appeared to be in a state of congestion. This was concerning for us as well,” he said.

However, the Minister said the Opposition had repeatedly raised questions over the design of the corridor without acknowledging that the design had been approved during AAP government’s tenure in Delhi.

Verma said the project timeline clearly showed that the design had been finalised in 2014-15, when the AAP government was in power, and that key decisions regarding the number of lanes and other aspects of the flyover were taken at that time.

“The Aam Aadmi Party is an expert at proving lies as truth. There is no match for them when it comes to presenting any lie as the truth. The Barapullah Phase-III flyover project began in 2015. That means its design had already been approved in 2014-2015, when the Aam Aadmi Party government had come to power in Delhi. The entire design was approved during their tenure. How many lanes the flyover would have — all of this was decided by them,” Verma said.

The Delhi PWD Minister said he inspected the Barapullah flyover shortly after the BJP government assumed office in February 2025 and claimed that a substantial portion of the construction work had already been completed by then.

“298 pillars had to be erected for this flyover. When we came to power, 80 per cent of the work was done. Of the 298 pillars, 288 had already been erected,” he said.

Verma also outlined the financial history of the project, saying its initial estimate was prepared in 2014-15 at Rs 1,057 crore, while the company that subsequently took up the construction work submitted a tender for Rs 964 crore.

“The work started on April 28, 2015 and was supposed to be completed within 30 months, that is, by October 27, 2017. However, we completed this work just a week before. From 2017 to 2026… This work was delayed for nine years. So much of taxpayers’ and the government’s money was wasted,” he said.

The Minister also alleged that several additional payments were made to the contractor before the BJP government came to power and that the contractor later approached arbitration under a clause included in the contract.

“The first escalation to the contractor was Rs 36.66 crore before our government came to power. The second escalation’s payment was Rs 39.85 crore, again before our government. Then that contractor went to arbitration because this contract had an arbitration clause. During this, on September 29, 2021, the contractor was awarded Rs 44 crore,” he said.

Verma said there were other instances in which the AAP government had made payments running into crores to the contractor in connection with arbitration proceedings.

Questioning the design of the flyover, the minister said the corridor should have been planned with future traffic requirements in mind.

“If we are seeing a traffic jam situation there today, was (AAP chief Arvind) Kejriwal’s vision so limited that on one side there is the DND Flyway, which is twice as wide, and on the other side is the Delhi-Meerut Expressway, whose width is also twice as much? You designed a flyover in 2015 where there is no space constraint, over the Yamuna, and still made it only two lanes on each side,” Verma said.

He questioned why a project involving such a large expenditure was not designed keeping the expected growth in traffic and population over several decades in mind.

“Was the Delhi government spending Rs 1,000 crore of public money in 2015 to build it only for two years? Today, whenever you build any building or any flyover, you build it keeping the next 50 to 100 years in mind. There is a traffic study to assess how much traffic and population are there… Accordingly, you decide its size,” he said.

Verma further alleged that the AAP government was responsible not only for approving the design but also for various technical and financial decisions linked to the project.

“The entire design was approved by the AAP government, the technical qualification, tender, Rs 600 crore extra payment — all this was done during the AAP government. And now, they make a video blaming us,” he said.

At the same time, Verma said the Delhi government was taking steps to address the traffic congestion and improve the functioning of the newly opened corridor.

He said a new U-turn, the possibility of adding another traffic lane, modifications at important merging points and discussions with Google for real-time traffic information were among the measures being considered.

He said commuters could start seeing improvements within the next 10 to 15 days, as the PWD was already working on measures recommended by the Delhi Traffic Police and its consultants.

The announcement came after the Delhi Traffic Police wrote to the PWD seeking changes to the corridor to improve traffic flow. Among the measures suggested by the police are a redesign of the merger near Sundial Park and the creation of a dedicated U-turn near Gurudwara Bala Sahib.

The Traffic Police has also flagged a mismatch between lane capacity and the geometry of the merger as one of the major factors contributing to congestion on the newly opened stretch.

The department has sought changes to improve the movement of vehicles and prevent bottlenecks at critical points.

Built for Rs 1,635 crore, the Barapullah Phase-III flyover connects Mayur Vihar Phase-1 on Noida Link Road with Sarai Kale Khan on Ring Road.

The corridor merges with the existing Barapullah network and forms part of a continuous 10-kilometre signal-free stretch extending up to the AIIMS roundabout.

(IANS)