New Delhi,  A total of 10 projects of critical importance to the city that include construction of roads aimed at easing traffic and facilitating public transport, arterial roads, road under and over bridges, National Highway and ambitious redevelopment plans for residential accommodations, are yet pending with the Environment Department of the Delhi government, said an official source on Thursday, adding that some of them are pending since as long as 2019.

"This is despite the fact that L-G V.K. Saxena took up the matter in various discussions with the Chief Minister in their weekly meetings and wrote to the CM on two different occasions on August 17 and September 30 and repeated flagging on files that come to LG for approval," the source said.

The official further added that the delay and inaction on part of Delhi government and its Environment Minister Gopal Rai to give permission for tree translocation, felling subject to afforestation is indeed baffling especially in light of the fact that all pre-requisites including money as compensation and land for compensatory afforestation by DDA, have already been put in place.

While talking about the pending 10 projects, the official said it includes as important as residential quarters for Central Industrial Security Force at Saket, construction of Dwarka Expressway Package-II, among others.

"In an approval accorded recently, with regards to construction of new engineering block and mini academic block at IIT-Delhi, the L-G had come down heavily on the environment department for such unjustified and inordinate delays. He had specifically pointed out the delay of two years and four months in granting approval to the extant project and asked the CM to fix responsibility at the highest level," the official said.