New Delhi:
Delhi Government is likely to deploy marshals at various areas in the city to stop frequent incidents of theft of expensive tiles, ornamental plants and streetlights, put up as part of its drive to beautify the capital ahead of the Commonwealth Games.
The PWD, which is spending thousands of crores to improve the look of the city ahead of the sporting event, mooted the idea of deploying the marshals following rising incidents of theft of "street furnitures" and other costly items.
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit is considering the proposal of the PWD to deploy marshals and is likely to take a "favourable decision very soon", a top PWD official said.
"We cannot deploy marshals on all the roads. But we can deploy them in theft prone areas," he said.
Under its streetscaping and beautification drive, the PWD has put up costly tiles, street lights and ornamental plants in several areas of the city.
"Theft of costly items like tiles, street-lights and plants have been reported from various areas of the city. It is becoming a big headache for us. Even items kept at the project sites are being stolen," the official said.
The official said the department has registered complaint with the police in various areas but no visible action has been taken so far by police.
"Ideally it is the job of the police to ensure protection of government properties. But as they are not taking the issue seriously, we have mooted the idea of deploying marshals," the official said.
He said most of the tiles installed in the footpaths are of international standards and are very costly. "We are putting up very expensive tiles. Some of the tiles cost Rs 200-Rs 300 apiece."
The official said in several areas, thieves have stolen steel poles and street-lights.
The PWD has already spent nearly Rs 8,000 crore in improving road infrastructure in the city. The agency has undertaken resurfacing of over 450 kms of roads in the city.