While the government is investing crores of rupees in developing the city's flyover network to ease traffic congestion, little thought is being put into how to effectively utilise the space lying in the flyover's shadow. And this space is quite considerable, given that there are 80-90 flyovers in Delhi, with another 10-12 under construction.

"While planning a flyover, it is important to think of the space beneath the carriageway," reiterates Anuj Malhotra, CEO of Ahmedabad-based Centre for Green Mobility . "It is precious urban land, which unfortunately is being wasted when so much could be done to utilise it optimally.

Arunava Dasgupta, head of urban design, School of Planning and Architecture, urges the city planners to transform what he calls the "negative spaces" created by the flyovers into "productive spaces through effective design inputs".Malhotra exemplifies this by pointing out how, depending on area and location, one could plan facilities like "open gyms, small playgrounds, nurseries, public meeting places and restaurants, art galleries or cafeterias"

The government did plan a market under the Defence Colony flyover. But over time, it has become clear that the plan was poorly thought out.