The Delhi government’s ambitious plan to construct and beautify 14 entry and exit points to the city gearing up for the Commonwealth Games next year has been put on hold for now.

Of the 14 entry points, five projects were under the Public Works Department (PWD). The government has now decided to scrap work on all five points for the 2010 Games. The reason, officials say, are bureaucratic hurdles faced in clearing the projects. “The projects were delayed at various stages because Delhi Urban Arts Commission (DUAC) has rejected all our designs,” Delhi Chief Secretary Rakesh Mehta said. “Now it is too late to take them up for the Games next year. Since beautifying the exit points will not really affect the Games, we have decided to drop the project for the time being.”

The designs for the five entry points submitted by the PWD were earlier shot down in March this year.

Nine entry points were to be beautified by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) but the project was dropped earlier this year due to lack of funds, officials said.

Case in point: The foundation stone for the Guru Teg Bahadur Memorial at Singhu border on the GT-Karnal Highway, which was to be the first of the 14 entry and exit points, was laid in February 2004. The project, constructed at a cost of Rs 22 crore, finally began in January 2006. Handled by the Delhi Tourism and Transport Development Corporation (DTTDC), it has already missed two deadlines and was to be completed by March this year. Over three years down the line, the memorial is still under construction.

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