They fear it will split the historic Old Delhi locality down the middle and damage its aesthetic appeal.

The project, scheduled to be completed by January 2020 at an estimated cost of Rs 65 crore, mostly involves decongesting the area’s skyline, an unwieldy clutter of electric and telephone wires. “We are going to lay all electrical wiring in these trenches,” said Pankaj Kumar, a project supervisor.

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An artist's illustration of the revamped Chandni Chowk
An artist's illustration of the revamped Chandni Chowk © delhi.gov.in

Historians say a canal ran the length of this road when Chandni Chowk was laid out by the 17th century Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. Its clear water reflected moonlight, lending the place a stunning air and its name, Moonlight Square. The redevelopment plan does not aim to revive the old canal. Instead, the trenches will form a 3.5-metre wide central verge housing electric transformers, police booths and toilets. 

But conservation experts are not impressed. “Today, Chandni Chowk is a mess,” said AGK Menon, former convener of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage who drafted the aborted proposal to nominate Delhi for UNESCO’s World Heritage City tag. “But when we say redevelopment, we mean what exists should be upgraded and the area should not lose its character. This does not mean that we are anti-development as conservation is also development.”

He pointed out that the proposed central verge will split Chandni Chowk into two parts. “With the transformers, police booths, toilets you will not be able to see the other side of the street,” Menon explained. “It will act as a wall.”

The project has also run into trouble with the Delhi Urban Art Commission, which is required to have approved it. But a senior official at the commission claimed they did not receive any proposal about redeveloping Chandni Chowk from the government. “We have no idea what is happening,” the official said. “We saw news reports about this and we sent a letter to the chief secretary a week ago. We are yet to receive any response.” 

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