To reduce congestion, motorised vehicles may be banned in Chandni Chowk

To decongest Chandni Chowk, the Delhi government will convert the market into a non-motorised, pedestrian friendly zone.

Only non-motorised vehicles such as cycle-rickshaws will be permitted in the area as part of the Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Plan aimed at improving the safety and convenience of pedestrians and shoppers.

A meeting of officials of the Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation (SRDC), the Public Works Department and Delhi Traffic Police will be held on Friday to check if the proposal is feasible.

Once enforced, parking and hawking will not be allowed on the main road from Lal Qila to Fatehpuri Masjid.

“The traffic plan was prepared by the Delhi Metro and it would require a go-ahead from the traffic police before implementation,” said a senior government official.

“The government is serious about the beautification and redevelopment of Chandni Chowk. We are holding a meeting with joint commissioner of police (traffic) Sharad Agarwal on Friday in which all stakeholders, including Nitin Panigrahi, the court-appointed nodal officer for the project, will be present with senior officials of the corporation,” said Chandni Chowk MLA Alka Lamba.

Kejriwal asks to clear Chandni Chowk mess in a week

Lamba inspected the area with the North Delhi Municipal Corporation and Delhi government officials on Sunday after the Delhi high court order to remove encroachments. She held talks with representatives of religious bodies about the court order to remove illegal religious structures from the area.

“I urged them (religious bodies) to cooperate with the government in implementing the court order and suggested, if they had objections, they could challenge the order,” the AAP leader added.

The decongestion plan was first envisaged in 2003 and was cleared by then Delhi chief secretary S Regunathan in July 2005.