When Kejriwal, Harsh Vardhan praised Sheila Dikshit

New Delhi, Nov 10: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Union Minister Harsh Vardhan today praised former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit for initiating the Azadpur-Prembari Pul elevated corridor, which was inaugurated today by Delhi government.

The 1.6-km elevated corridor will decongest areas like Ashok Vihar, Shalimar Bagh and Wazirpur and allow unhindered traffic flow along the entire 44-km Ring Road. AAP government has completed the construction at an actual cost of Rs 147 crore as against a sanctioned outlay of Rs 247.17 crore.

The Sheila Dikshit government had initiated the project in 2013. "The entire credit for initiating the Azadpur-Prembari Pul elevated corridor goes to Dikshit.

When we took over the government, only 20-30 per cent of the work on this project was completed but, in last eight months, we have completed the remaining works and will do the same for other projects as well," Kejriwal said.

Vardhan, a former Delhi BJP President and the Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, too, praised Dikshit, who was at the helm in Delhi for 15 years, saying that we should not engage in politics over development works.

Referring to Dishit, he said that "there should no politics over developmental works for the sake of Delhi".

Kejriwal, meanwhile, claimed it was the first time that a project whose sanctioned cost was Rs 250 crore was completed at an actual cost of Rs 150 crore. "I think this is for the first time that a flyover, whose sanctioned cost was Rs 250 crore, has been built at an actual cost of Rs 150 crore.

We have heard till now that a project having sanctioned cost of Rs 250 crore was constructed at a cost of Rs 500 crore. "We will now build two flyovers at a cost at which only one flyover was earlier constructed. We will not waste taxpayers' money," he added.

PTI