In a first-of-its-kind initiative, Delhi PWD Minister Parvesh Verma on Saturday rolled out the innovative “Government on Wheels” campaign, leading a 47-km-long inspection drive on the city’s Outer Ring Road to identify issues affecting the public daily.
During the four-hour inspection drive, the Minister stopped at multiple choke points and stretches across the city where commuters daily face hardships.
Encroachments on footpaths, stretches of uneven roads, neglected drainage systems, and sanitation gaps were identified and noted by a team of officials present during the inspection drive led by the PWD Minister.
Officials were given strict directions to prepare time-bound solutions for each issue identified, while Verma emphasised that inter-departmental coordination was key to resolving such challenges.
Verma said the initiative was designed to ensure that everyday hassles and grievances of citizens — whether potholes, traffic bottlenecks, or open drains — are addressed on priority.
The minister was accompanied by principal secretaries and senior officials from the PWD, Jal Board, Irrigation and Flood Control, MCD, and Delhi Police during the tour of the Ring Road.
The Outer Ring Road, which connects vast stretches of the capital, has long faced issues ranging from traffic congestion and encroachments to open drains, broken roads, waterlogging, and poor sanitation.
According to the minister, the “Government on Wheels” concept is designed to bring governance closer to the people by ensuring that decision-makers witness urban challenges in real time.
As part of the initiative, officers from multiple departments travel together on a single bus, inspecting major roads and public spaces as a team, allowing instant coordination, cross-departmental accountability, and faster decisions.
The aim is to build a culture of solution-oriented governance where visible improvements replace paperwork and excuses, he said.
The minister underlined that this approach would now be replicated in other major stretches of the capital to ensure accountability, transparency, and effective delivery of services.
“This is the first time a minister has taken all principal secretaries and departmental officers out of their offices and onto the road in this manner,” an official present during the drive said.
“It breaks silos, ensures teamwork, and sends a strong message that the government is serious about real change,” he added.
“Governance cannot remain locked inside meeting rooms. If the public lives on the road, we must work on the road,” Verma asserted.