Delhi Capital

It’s a dream come true for Delhiites to get a Delhi Development Authority (DDA) flat. The process, work and the effort that had to be put in order to get a DDA flat is a nightmare. On October 25, 2010, DDA Housing Scheme was launched and some 16,000 flats located across Delhi were on offer. For the first drawn which was held on April 18, 2011, DDA received over 7.56 lakh applications.

Some 12,000 of the successful allottees have received demand letters for their flats but still the remaining 4,000 allottees are still in the quest from pillar to post to get any information about when they would get their flats. DDA has stated that the remaining demand letters would be issued shortly but the allottees are still not sure when the promised day would come.

Sunita Khanna (name changed on request) sait that “Visiting the DDA headquarters regularly for the demand letter has become a part of my life and is affecting my office work.“ She also said that “DDA officials had earlier promised to issue the letter by January but I’m not sure if I will get the letter even in February. It has already been one-and-a-half years since DDA launched the scheme but I don’t know when exactly would I be able to move into my own house. “

The deadlines set for issuing the demand letters by DDA has been missing and the reason why the 4000 allottees are still not getting the letter is because the flats are still not completed. Vasant Kunj D-6, Jasola Sector 9A, Dwarka 18B and Rohini Sector 29 are some of the areas where the demand letters for allotments are made for flats. A senior DDA official said that “Work on flats in these areas is yet to be completed but it would be done shortly. “ One main problem why these flats are still not completed is because DDA is facing problem installing elevators. Though elevators have been put in place, they are yet to be made operational. According to some DDA officials ‘Apart from construction work, which is lagging behind, another reason for the delay seems to be the fact that most of these flats are located in multi-storied buildings. “There is a problem with installation of elevators in these buildings.’’

Only once the elevator starts working and after the completion of construction, the demand letters for all the locations will be raised. The allottees of these flats have received an intimation letter, instead of a demand letter. After they get the demand letter, allottees can make the payment for the flats. The process of taking possession of the flat would take two months after payment.

Forget the 12-15 floors that came up in east and west Delhi in the early 90s, now Delhi is also set to get skyscrapers.

Today, there are many developers who are building 15 floors and plus residential towers in Delhi and the tallest project. ‘Raheja Phoenix’ till now is set at 51 storey which will be build by Raheja Developers.

The Capital Greens project under DLF has 29 floors which are being constructed in Moti Nagar, while the Kings and Queens Court project in Greater Kailash II will have eight floors. In civil Lines, Parsvnath Developers has planned to build over 10 floors for its La Tropicana project. Projects launched by private developers and those in the pipeline will generate about 4,000 units in the national Capital.

Raheja Developers project ‘Raheja Phoenix’ is part of a redevelopment project that is proposed to come up in Kathputli Colony near Patel Nagar. This will be a joint-venture with the Dubai-based Arabtec Construction, who has built the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the tallest tower in the world.

Navin Raheja, chairman and managing director, Raheja Developers Limited said  “We are planning 170 highend units in this project. Raheja Phoenix will be 190 metres tall and will exceed the tallest building in Delhi -the 112-metre Civic Centre. The project envisages the creation of 2,800 2BHK units for displaced slum dwellers in 14-storey structures.“ He also stated that “We are technically qualified for 23 such redevelopment projects in and around Delhi, mainly in Old Delhi, and if we qualify as the highest bidder, we will build over a lakh houses. We will naturally go vertical as there is no other option.

The search for land in Delhi is on for the Supertech Group, which is building the 300-metre, 80storeyed Supernova project and the 255-metre, 60-storeyed North Eye project in Noida.  R K Arora, CMD of the company said “We are considering several options in zones under MPD2021 in Delhi. We hope to launch tall buildings in the Capital, following the overwhelming response we received in Noida. Going forward, tall buildings are the only option available due to scarcity of land.

‘The challenges of going tall in India are the same as the challenges faced in all other countries,’ said GC Christofides, CEO, Arabtech Construction LLC. He also said ‘The easy challenges are utilising the correct systems to allow for the right quality and speed while at the same time handling efficiently the logistical problems specific to tall construction’.

News Source : Hindustan Times

As a rising economy, India has developed a curving for the better things in life and various luxuries. For Delhi, imported liquor seems to be one of the most common indulgence. The demand for imported alcoholic beverages has double since last year in Delhi. In 2011, more than 10.08 lakh bottles of imported beer was sold compared to the year before. Some 3.46 lakh bottles of wines were sold, when only some 1.94 lakh were sold the year before. The increase in demand for imported whiskey has also increased to 3.87 lakh when it was just 2.34 lakh bottles for the year before.

A senior excise department official stated that  “Buying and serving expensive liquor in parties has become a status symbol. The Delhiites’ buying capacity is increasing and they don’t shy away from spending big bucks on expensive imported liquor,“ There are some 32 shops in the city which sell imported liquor. Last year, the excise department collected a revenue of R1,240 crore. This figure has gone up to R1,540 crore this year.

There has been an increase of over 17 percent in the sale of imported liquor in Delhi and the revenue generated has also increased to over 24 percent as according to officials.  A excise department official said “We are expecting the sales to go up further because of the festive season. Generally, people consume more liquor to beat the cold.“

In Delhi there are some 423 government-run, 90 private and 16 mall-based liquor outlets in the city. Delhi government had also recently drafted a proposal to allow microbreweries in Delhi restaurants and pubs. The proposal has framed the rules and regulations which will act as eligibility criteria for such pubs, for instance, the minimum space required and the volume of beer which can be produced.

News Source : Hindustan Times

Famous for its extreme weather, Delhi weather can be very ruthless. This winter, the cold has claimed many lives and most victims are the homeless. 118 unidentified bodies have been found this month, according to Delhi police figures and 60% of the death is because of the cold.

According to the report, around three persons lost their live everyday because of the cold. A certain area in North Delhi with a huge number of homeless has lost 31 person to the cold while Central Delhi has lost 17 so far. Though government has set up night shelter, hunders of people die of cold.

In simple figures, this means that around three persons have died due to the cold in the city every day so far in December. The maximum number -31 -is from North Delhi district, an area that has the highest number of homeless people. The figure for central Delhi is 17.

Paramjeet Kaur and Ashray Adhikar Abhiyan who works for the homeless in a NGO said that “The government sets up shelters every year, but no one is doing anything about the occupancy,“

A proposal to the urban development department has already been send by the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation to build a transit home for labourers and construction workers in Kanjhawala. Kaur said,“No homeless person will ever move to Kanjhawala. Location is very important when it comes to getting the homeless to sleep inside a shelter. This plan will simply not work.”

News Source : Hindustan Times

If there be paradise on earth, this is it vaunted Diwan-i-Khas in its prime and when King George V arrived for his Durbar 100 years ago the State Procession that followed his entry hurried the king away from the hall, out of Delhi Gate and into the city. George V had time merely to mark the fort’s sparse grandeur and discrete pavilions, and wonder why it had been called the noblest palace in the world for so long. What he probably didn’t know was that most of the ‘Exalted Palace’ travellers raved about for two centuries had been swept away. The sparkling canal that divided the very road he took out of the fort, Houses of the salatin (royal descendants) had made way for the new lawns to his right. Razed palaces, arcades and cloisters had left behind the long, empty brackets of space to his left were all gone.

What George V witnessed was more like a poem with most of its lines missing. With most of its glory missing, it’s very difficult to visualize Red Fort in its prime but thankfully a new book offers a glimpse into the palace of the last Mughal and the surrounding city that Zauq and Ghalib loved and lived in. JP Losty’s Delhi 360º (Roli Books) reveals the Red Fort and Shahjahanabad of the Mughal dynasty’s dying years through artist Mazhar Ali Khan’s panorama, “A Picture of the Imperial City of Shahjahanabad Drawn from the Lahore Gate of the Exalted Fort”. Acquired by the British Library at a country auction in 1981, the painting is signed November 25, 1846 , and is an important historical record.

During the Mutiny of 1857, the British had cleared a large swathe of the city that lay within firing range (450 yards) of the fort walls. Most of the palaces and buildings within the fort were also demolished in the name of security. So, Khan’s panorama captured the fort and the city in their swan song, and in massive detail. Measuring 66.5cm high and 490.8cm wide, the panorama is the equivalent of a 455-megapixel shot when printed at 300 dots-per-inch photo quality. The only way to produce such a photo-real historical record in the 1840s was by faithfully recording every line of street, roof and pillar with brush and paint.

From Khan’s observation deck under one of Lahore Gate’s chhatris (cupolas), Khan swept his gaze first north (towards the ticket counters) and then clockwise, till he had traced a unique 360º view. The roughly 5-metre water colour panorama was painted on five sheets and pasted together as a scroll longer than an average apartment bedroom.

More than its age, the panorama is important for what it shows. The fort is fully built up. It is no longer true to Shahjahan’s aesthetic, but a living, thriving space nonetheless. Outside, the city is more orderly built and leafy than what you see today. Trees ring it from the north all the way to Fatehpuri Masjid on the west. There are trees even on Chandni Chowk’s median. Of traffic there is little, and squalor none, but the last may be the artist’s disinclination to sully his canvas. It nothing less of a wonder. From the painting at first glance, nothing but the fort’s august gates is recognizable. There is so much between them that no living person has seen. The very intricate decorations of Chhatta Bazaar’s walls. They are now lost under layers of white paint. Immediately to the right is a spread of houses for the salatin. Towards the Naqqarkhana has a large, enclosed court with three-arched gateways to the north and the south. In fact, gates, arcades and cloisters regularly frame, link and also curtain the fort’s different quarters. Another surprise is the white Diwani-Aam beyond Naqqarkhana. The hall’s pearly plaster finish was stripped off early in the last century, exposing its red sandstone.

The painting also shows Shahjahanabad in relation to the older relics. Monuments such as Kotla Firoz Shah, Humayun’s Tomb, Purana Qila, and the farthest, Qutab Minar, are duly marked out. Studying Khan’s panorama will leave you a little wistful, for the lost splendours of Red Fort, the city’s easy pace, its leafy environs, the Yamuna’s wide expanse — and the horizon. Once upon a time, earth and sky met all around Delhi.

News Source : Times of India

Mohinder Singh, chairman, Noida authority said, SURVEY Authority points out need for mass transport system, curbing growth of personal vehicles ( Rapid commuting between Delhi and Noida has been possible because of the construction of roads and bridges. ) A railway link for Noida has been proposed, which will connect the city to Tughlaqabad in south Delhi at one end and to Dadri at the other end.

According to a study conducted by the Noida authority, around 80% of the city traffic falls along the Noida-Delhi corridors. During the morning hours higher volumes enter the city, while evening hours traffic leaving the city increases. As per this study shows increase in the number of workers commuting from neighbouring areas to workplaces in Noida.

As per the study incorporated in the latest master plan (2031) says personal vehicles (i.e. cars and two-wheelers) have a significant role (40 to 50%) in the traffic volume. The study shows integrated inter-city public transport system is required to reduce the burden of personal vehicles in Noida, Delhi and other neighboring urban areas.

Mohinder Singh, chairman, Noida authority also said that Emerging travel characteristics of the city suggest transitional changes. Initially conceived as a self-contained township, the city has transformed itself into an extended suburb of Delhi. “Rapid commuting between Delhi and Noida has been possible because of the construction of roads and bridges,“

According to the master plan, there is a need to contain the growth of personal vehicles. There are about 60,000 cars registered at the Noida regional transport office alone and some 850 cars are registered every month here.

Noida has no railway station with Hazrat Nizamuddin as the nearest station which is some 25 kilometers away from Noida. Besides the Metro, which does not also cover most part of the area, road becomes the only linkage with the area. “A railway link for Noida has been proposed, which will connect the city to Tughlaqabad in south Delhi at one end and to Dadri at the other end,“ said Singh.The plan says major corridors are full to capacity. There is an increase in per capita trip rates and trip lengths. “We’re working on a dedicated transport system for Noida. We’re building elevated roads and underpasses across the city.

News Source : Hindustan Times

Narela and Najafgarh may be the site where Delhi will witness skyscrapers in the near future. For those staying in a gated colony with three storey can build more floors on the plot. The Master Plan of Delhi 2021 seeks to incentivize the redevelopment of existing plotted colonies in order to make more room to accommodate more people. Though only two floors were allowed to houses on smaller plots but, now, one can build up to four floors measuring around 15 metres.

AK Jain, former commissioner (planning), DDA said “Through a combined application, such group of plots can be converted into a group housing society. The owners can then build a residential complex with 12 floors and a height of maximum 36 metres. “One can build a taller residential building by pooling in land with your neighbors. Owners in contiguous plots can form a cluster of land that should not have an area of less than 3,000 sq metres. With a larger plot available, the Floor Area Ratio would be relaxed by an extra 50 per cent.

Anyone who is interested in a group housing scheme can submit their proposal to the engineering wing of the MCD, which will then forward it to the MCD House for approval. Once the House approves it, construction will be allowed. An MCD official said “Most people are not aware of the existence of such a clause in which plots can be joined and 12-storey houses can be built for residential purpose much like residential societies.

“By joining smaller plots and turning the land into one big plot, the residents can build recreational facilities such as children’s play area, but so far, no one has showed any initiative,“ was said by Subhash Arya, Leader of House in MCD. He also said that if the MCD receive such proposal, they would surely consider it and in fact, MCD would encourage more people to come forward with similar proposals. TOMORROW With large availability of housing in Delhi when it goes vertical, will realty prices in Gurgaon and Noida get affected.

News Source : Hindustan Times

With all the high rise buildings, efficient public transportation, wider roads and more parks and gardens, Delhi is on the right track towards a world-class city but Delhi also faces another problem, lack of space. With the rapid population growth, Delhi desperately needs more space.

Delhi has witness massive changes in the past 50 years in terms of growth. The city has witness city builders taking over agricultural land to accommodate the growing population. The space for Delhiite is shrinking every year.

According to the Master Plan of Delhi 2021, the solution lies in going vertical. Though it might solve the problem of space but Delhi will lose the luxury of being a garden city. Both prescribe densification of the city, either by going up or redeveloping the existing residential areas.

According to historian Aman Nath “It’s not the ideal situation, but the fact is that Delhi can’t remain a horizontal city anymore.” “There is the aggression of population and 10,000 vehicles are added daily…Delhi has to go up or underground, which sounds sensible keeping the hot weather in mind,“ he says.

The first Master Plan drafted in 1962 was felt that due to the growing population, Delhi needed to go vertical. Though Delhi is traditionally known for a low-rise city but the city has always fancied high-rise. The first high-rises started from the mid-1960s near Connaught Place, the heart of low-rise Delhi. Areas such as the Barakhamba Road and Kasturba Gandhi Marg were included in th Central Business District where bungalows were taken down to make way for  building with 20 floors.

AK Jain, former commissioner (planning), Delhi Development Authority said that “The Floor Area Ratio for these areas was raised to 400 that allowed these buildings to come up. It was later felt these buildings had no composite design and went against the character of Lutyens’ Delhi.

News Source : Hindustan Times

Delhi is one of the fastest growing cities in the world and in just two year, Delhi is planning to implement pod taxi. Vasant Kunj may become Delhi’s first locality to get pod cabs. Pods are a quicker and more personal mode of transport. Pod cabs in Delhi will connect various parts of Vasant kunj with Vasant Vihar via Nelson Mandela Marg and Aurobindo Marg near Andheria Morh. Delhi Government has already got a detailed report from the Transport Department for approval.

Pad taxis are small electric cars which run on a dedicated tracks and seating’s range from two to 10 commuters. Pods were first introduced in Morgantown in 1975, which is located in the US stated of West Virginia and this mode of transportation is famous in various parts of the globe.  Haryana government in India is currently doing a feasibility study for Gurgaon. Dwarka, Karol Bagh, Delhi University and east Delhi areas are some areas where Delhi transport Department is planning to implement the Pod Taxis concept.

Officials said that Vasant Kunj was choosen from a list of 20 areas in Delhi to intall this futuristic mode of transportation. Installing Pod in Delhi is not a small task but if everything goes according to plan, Delhi will have its own pod cabs in just two years from now.  Vasant kunj, one of Delhi’s upscale market/residential area was choose by the Delhi Transport Department to be it first location. According to officials, Vasant Kunj is the best location where a facility like pod cars would be highly successful.

Delhi has experience huge change in the mode of transportation, all for better and the installation of Metro Train in December 2002 has made commuting in the Capital much more convenient. With the funky colored air conditioned buses, commuting in Delhi has never been better. Pod cabs which are small personalised, pilot-less taxis and ply on rails or suspended on elevated track will be the latest edition to Delhi’s Transport. Pods will have a carrying capacity of some 4,000-5,000 passengers per hour, per direction, at a speed of 40-70km an hour and will cost around rupees 8 per ride.  

A senior official said that “The system is suitable for a locality where people have paying capacity. It will not only serve as a local transport system within the Vasant Kunj area, but will also act as a feeder service to the Metro network at Andheria Morh (Central Secretariat Line) and Vasant Vihar (Janakpuri-Noida Line),“ UK-based Ultra Fairwood Limited, who are conducting a study for the project in Gurgaon -and MISTER Personal Rapid Transit System have already stated their intention to construct and operate the system in Delhi are some shortlisted companies who will work on the construction as according to an Official.

In just a few months, DTC bus passengers will be kept under constant surveillance through CCTV and commuters will also be checked by the bus staff with a metal detector for weapons to make travelling in Delhi safer.

Delhi’s public transport system is a very vulnerable spots for terror attacks and the government is taking serious measures to prevent any such events. The Delhi Metro network is checked and secured through manual as well as strict electronics surveillance system but the DTC still continue to be a vulnerable target.

According to DC senior officials, said they are now working on a state home department’s proposal to install CCTV cameras and metal detectors in its 6,500strong fleet of buses. As these will have huge financial implications, DTC will have to arrange for the equipment on its own. DTC chairman-cum-managing director Vijay Kumar Dev said they have taken up the proposal with transport department of Delhi government. Dev said that  “Once a policy is laid out and its financial implications are taken care of, we will involve all stakeholders including bus manufacturers to see how it can be made possible,“

The human resources will have to arrange everything to run this entire system smoothly, said DTC officials. The officials also said that they will have to generate a backend system through which they will feed the  large number of buses and will not only have to be monitored but will also have to be stored for future reference.

DTC buses in a day make some 35,00040,000 trips and carry more than 40 lakh passengers every day. The department has launched cluster bus scheme in Delhi through which some 4,400 private buses which will runs on over 650 routes in a couple of years and these private buses will also have to install CCTV camera as well as metal detectors.